The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-01-12

Achieve Fer Own Destiny-Ihe Story
IT the Dove and the NuIture.
BRooELYN, Jan. 8.-The Rev. T, De
Witt Talmagc, d. D., preached at the
Tabernacle this morning the first of a
series Of sermons to the women of Amer
ica, with practical hints for men. Tho
subject Of this discourse was "Thc
Women Who Fight the Battles of Life
Alone, y and the text was from Proverbs
xiv. |: Livery wise woman buildeth her
house. DIR. Talmage said:
woman mere adjunct to man. an ap-
pondix to the masculine volume, AN ay-
pendaGe, Il sort of aftcrthought, some
thing thrown in to make things even
that il the heresy entertained and I'M
p1ed by some men. This is evident to
them: Woman's S insigniiicance as COM
parcd to man Is evident TO them. because
Adam WAS first created and then Eve.
They don't read the whole story or they
would find that the porpoise and the bear
and the hawk were created before Adam.
SO that this argument drawn from prior
lty of creation might prove that the sheep
and the doS were greater than man. No!
Woman was an independent creation,
and was intended, if she chose. to
live alone, TO walk alone. act alone, think
alone, and fight her battles alone, The
Bible says it is not good for man to be
alone, but never says it is not good for
woman to be alone and the simple fact
is that many women who are harnessed
for life in the marriage relation would be
II thousand fold better off if they were
lone. God makes no mistake, and the
fact that there is such q large majority
of women i'll this land proves that he in
tended that mulltudcs of them should
go alone.
Who are these men who, year after
year, hang around hotels and engine
houses and theatre doors. and come in and
out to bother busy clerks and merchants
and mechanics, doing nothing even when
there is plenty to doI They are men
supported by their wives and mothers.
Ii the statistics of any of our cities could
be taken on this subject you would find
that vast multitude Of women not only
support themselves. but masculines. A
great legion OF men amount to nothing,
and a woman by marriage manaCled to
one of these nonentities needs coincidence.
A woman standing outside the MARRIAGE
relation IS several hundred thousand times
better of than d woman badly arried.
NAM a bride. instead of a wreath of
orange blossoms, might more properly
wear bunch of nottIeS and nightshade.
and instead of the Wedding March
more appropriate tune would be TIE
Dead March in Saul, and instead of a
banquet of confectionery and ices there
might be more appropriately spread
table covered with apples Of Sodon,
which are outside fair and inside ashes.
Many an attractive woman Of cool
sound sense in Other things has married
one OF these men TO reform him. What
was the result? Like when a dove motto
Ing that vuiture was rapacious and
cruel set about to reform it and said: Il
have a mild disposition, and like peace,
and was brought up in the quiet of a
dove cote, and will bring the vulure t.
the same liking by marrying him. So
one day, after the yulture had declared
he would give up his carnivorous habits
and cease longing for blood of flock and
herd. at an altar of rock covered with
moss and lichen the twain were married,
laid headed eagle officiating, the vul-
turc saying: With all my dominion Of
earth and sky | thee endow. and promise
to love and cherish til death do Us
part" But one day the dove in
her fight saw the vulture busy at
carcass and cried: Stop that! Dill you
not promise me that You would quit your
caruivorous and filthy habits if l married
you?" Yes said the vulturc, but if
you don't like my way you can leave,
AMI with one angry stroke Of beak and
another fierce clutch of claw the vulturo
left tho dove eyeless and wiugless and
lifcess. And flock Of robins flying
past cried to each other and sand: "See
there. that comes from a doves mary
ing Il ruiture to reform him."
Many a woman who has had the hand
of q Young incbriatc offered, but declined
it. or who was asked to chain her lie to
q man selfish OF of bad temper and re-
fused the shackles, will Lless Gol
throughout all eternity that she escaped
th,t c@rth!y pandcmonium.
Besi les all this, in our country about
1.000 0J0 men were sacrificed in our
civil war. and that decreed 100000
women to celibaCy. Besides that, since
the war several armies of men as large as
the Federal and Confederate armies put
together have fallen under malt liquors
and distilled spirits so full of poisoned in
Eredients that the work was done more
rapidly, and the victims fell while get
Young. And if so, 600 men are destroyed
every year by strong drink before mar
tI,,f in N fyVp
three years since the war 100000
men slain, and DEGREES 100000
women to celibacy. Take then the fact
that so many women are unhappy in
their marriage, and the fact that the
slaughter Of 2,150,000 men by war and
rum combined decides that at least that
number of women shall be unattianced
for life, my text comes in with cheer
and potency and appropriateness that
/ never saw in it before when it says.
"Every wise woman buildeth her house,
that is. let woman be her own architect,
Law out her own plans, be her own super
visor, achieve her own destiny.
In addressing these who will have to
fight the battle of life alone | conGratu-
Late you on your happy escape. Rejoice
forever that you will not have to navi-
gate the faults of the other sex, when
Won have faults enough of your own.
Think of the bereavements you avoid, of
the risk of unassimilated temper which
YOU will not have to run, of cares you
will never have to carry, and of the OPP
portunity of outside usefulness from
which marital life would have partially
debarred you, and that you are free to
c.c end come as one who has the reSpOn-