The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1888-02-09

prescription for Naaman's Ienrosv.
the woman of Sarepta would rather
gather few sticks to cook meal for
famished Elijah; Phebe would rather
carry letter for the inspired
apostle; Mother Lois would rather
educate Timothy in the Scriptures When
L see woman going about her dailv
duty-with cheerful DIGNITY presiding at
the table; with kind and gentle. INIT
firm, discipline presiding in the nursery.
gong out into the world without any
| blast of trumpets, following in the foot
steps of him who went about doing good
Il say: This is Vaslhti with a veil on. >.
But when l see woman of unblushing
boldness, loud voiced, with a tongue Of
infinite Glitter clatter, with arrogant
look, passing through the streets with q
masculine swing. gayly aIraycd in a
very hurricane of millinery, 1 cry out !:
| .'Hasntl has lost her veil . When see
woman struggling for political
prefernent. and rejecting the duties
| OF home as Insignificant. and thinking
the offices of wife, mother and daughter
of no importance, and trying to force her
way on up into conspicuity, say: .Ah.
what pity: Vashti has long lost her
| VEIL When L see woman of comely
| features, and of adroitness of intellect.
and endowed with all that the schools can
do for one, and of high social position.
| yet moving in society with supercilious-
ness and hauteur, as though she would
have people know their place, and an un-
defined combination of giggle, and strut,
and rodon1ontade, endowed with allo-
/ pathic quantities of talk, but only home
| opathic in6nitesimals of sense, the terror
| of dry goods clerks and railroad con-
| ductors, discoveries of significant mean
4 -
badness and innuendo-I say: "Vashti has
lost her VEIL
But do not misinterpret what say
into depreciation of the work of those
| glorious and divinely called women who
| will not be understood till after they are
| dead, women like Susan B. Anthony,
| who are giving their life for the better
ment of the condition of their sex. Those
! of you who think that women have
| under the law of this country an equal
| chance with men are ignorant of the laws
| A gentleman writes me from MARYLAND,
| saying: Take the laws Of this state. A
| man and wife start out in life full of
hope in every RESPECT by their joint eff
| forts, and, as Is frequently the case,
| through the economic ideas of the wife,
succeed in accommodating fortune, but
| they have no children; they reach old
age tOSStiitI. Stilu llei1 the HOSOand QIGS.
What does the law of this state do then9 It
| says to the widow. hands off your late
husbands property, do not touch it; the
state viii find others to whom it will give
that. but yoa, the widow, must not
touch it, only SO much as will keep life
within your aged body, that you may
i've to sec these others enjoy what right
fully should lie your own And the
state seeks the relatives of the deceased
husband. whether they be near or far,
whether they were ever heard of before
or not. and transfers to them, sing1y or
collectively, the estate of the deceased
husband and living widow.
Now. that is specimen of unjust laws
IN all the states concerning womanhood.
Instead of flying off to the discussion as
to whether or not the giving of the right
OF voting to women will correct these
laws, let he say to men, be gallant
enough, and fair enough, and honest
enough, and righteous enough, and God
loving enough to correct these wrongs
against women by your own masculine
votes. Do not wait for woman suffrage
to come, if it ever does come, but so far
as you can touch ballot boxes, and legis-
latures, and congresses begin the refor-
nation. But until justice is done to
your sex by the laws of all the states and
women of America take the platforms
and the pulpits,. and no honorable man
will charge Vasht with having lost her
veil.
Again. 1 want you this morning to
consider VasIti the sacrifice Who is
this that see coming out of that palace
gate of Shushan? 1t seems to me that I
have seen her before She comes home
less, houseless, friendless, trudging along
with a broken heart. Who is she? 1t is
Vashti the sacrifice. Oh, what change
it was from regal position to way
farer's crust. little while ago approved
and sought for; now none SO poor as
TO acknowledge her acquaintanceship.
Vashti the sacrifice. All, you and have
seen 1t many time. Here is home
empalaced with beauty. All that refine
ment, and books, and wealth can do for
that home has been done; but Ahasuerus.
the husband and the father. is taking
hold on paths of sin. He is gradually
going down. After while he will
hounder and struggle like wild beast in
hunters net-further away from God,
further away from the right Soon the
bright apparel of the children will turn
TO rags; soon the household song will be-
come the sobbing of a broken heart The
breaking Up the marriage feast of La
pithae. The house full of outrage. and
cruclt,, and a,onlination, while trudging
forth from the palace gate are Vashti
an her chill, .t,n. There. are homes rep
resented i'll his house this morning that
are IL da.::ycr or such a breaking
up. Oh Al:.x uerus. that you should
stand III EoiI1c. by u dissipated
HE destroying the peace and comfort
OF that hone. Go,i forbid that YOUR
children she4sid ever have to wiring their
hands. and Lave people point their finger
at them as they pass down the street and
say: There goes a drunkard's child"
God forbid that the little feet should ever
have to trud.se the path of poverty and |
wretchedness. God forbid that any evil |
spirit, born of the wine cup or the brandy !
flask, should come forth and uproot that
garden, and, with blasting, blistering, |
all consuming curse, shut for ever the |
palace gate against Vashti and the chill |
dren
Oh, the women and the men of sacri- |
flee are going to take the brightest coro-
mails of heayen! This woman of the text |
gave up palatial residence, gave ND all for |
what she considered right Sacrificed |
Is there anything more sublime? A
steamer called the Prairie Belle, burning |
on the Mississippi river, Bludso, the. engi-
neer, declared he would keep the bow Of |
the boat to the shore till all were off, and |
he kept his promise. st 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 10 changed
A word or two.