The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1888-01-12
THE TABERNACLE SERMON.
THE WOMEN WHO FIGHT THE BAT
TIES OF LIFE ALoNE.D

The WOMEN WHO FIGHT THE BAT
TIES OF LIFE ALONE.D
woman is an Independent Creation and
is Able to BE Her Own Supervisor and
Achieve Her Own Destiny-The story
of the Dove and the vuiture.
bRooKLYS, Jan. 8.-The Rev. T. De
Wltt Ialmage, d. D., preached at the
tabernacle this morning the first of a
series OF sermons to the women of Amer
lea, with practical hints for men. The
subjest of this discourse was ssThe
Women Who Fight the Battles of Life
Alone, and the text was from Proverbs
XIV, l: Every wise woman buildeti her
house. " DIR. Talmage said:
Woman mere adjunct to man, an ap-
pendlN to the masculine volume, an APP
pendage, a sort of afterthought, some
thing thrown in to make things even
that Is the heresy entertained and i'm
plled by some men. This is evident to
them: Woman's insignifcance as COM
pared 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 thai tlsis argument drawn from priog~
1tygof cFeation might prove that the Sheep
and the dog 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 ight 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
a thousand fold better off if they were
lone. God makes no mistake, and the
fact that there is such large majority
of women in this land proves that he in
tended that multitudes 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 do2 They are men
supported by their wives and mothers.
If the statistics of any of our cities could
be taken on this subject you would find
that a vast multitude of women not only
support themselves, but masculines. A
great legion of men amount to nothing,
and woman by marriage manacled to
one of these nonentities needs coincidence
A woman standing outside the marriage
relation is several hundred thousand times
better off than a woman badly married
Many a bride. instead of a wreath of
orange blossoms, might more properly
wear BUNCH Of nettles and nightshade,
and instead of the Wedding March a
more appropriate tune would be the
Dead March in Saul, and instead of a
banquet of confectionery and ices there
might be more appropriately spread a
table covered with apples of Sodom,
which are outside fair and inside ashes.
Many an attractive woman of good
sound sense in other things has married
one of these men to reform him. What
was the result? Like when dove MOTTO
ting that a vulture was rapacious and
cruel set about to reform it and said: IL
have mild disposition, and like peace,
and was brought up in the Quiet<of a
dove cote, and l will bring the vllture to
Nn~44ile same liking by marrying him." SO
one day, after the vulture had declared
ne 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,
a bald beaded eagle officiating, the ylll-
ture saving; with all my dominion of
earth and sky thee endow, and promise
to love and cherish till death do us
part." But one day the dove in
her flight saw the vulture busy at a
carcass and cried: "Stop that! Did you
not promise me that you would quit your
carnivorous and filthy habits if / married
you?'' YES" said the vulture, "but il
you don't like my way you can leave, F"
and with one angry stroke OF beak and
another fierce clutch of claw the vultHre
left the dove eyeless and wingless and
hfeless. And flock of robins flying
past cried to each other and said: "Set
there that comes from doves marry
ing n vulture to reform him."
Many q woman who has had the hanC
of young inebriate offered, but declined
it. or who was asked to chain her life t.
a man selfish or of bud temper and re
fused the shackles. will bless Got
throughout all eternity that she escapec
that earthly pandemonium.
Besides all this, in our country ahou
1000, 600 men were sacrificed in ou
civil war, and that decreed 100000
women to celibacy. B0ffles that, sine
the war several armies of men as large a
the Federal and Confederate armies pu
together have fallen under malt liquor
and distilled spirits so foil of poisoned in
gradients that the work was done NOR
rapidly, and the victims fell while ye
Young. And If 80, 900 men are destroye
every year by strong drink before mar
riage, that makes ia the twenty
three years since the war i,f50,0 90
men slain, and DEGREES 1,150,00
women to celibacy. Take then the fac
that so many women are unhappy i
their marriage, and the feet that tn
slaughter of 9, 10000 men by war an
rum combined decides that at least the
number of women shall be unaffiance
for life, my text comes in with ches
and potency and appropriateness the
Ineyer saw III it before when 1t say
4sEvery wise woman buildeth her house,
that is, let woman be her own architec
day out her own plans, be her own supe'
visor, achieve her own destiny.
In addressing these who will have
fight the battle of life alone congratr
late you on yonr happy escape. Rejoie
forever that you viii not have to nav
gate the faults of the other sex, whe
YOU have faults enough Of your owl
Think Of the bereavements you avoid, {
the risk OF lnassimilated temper whiC
YOU will not haze to run, of cares yo
will never have TO carry, and of the o.
portunity of outside usefulness fro
which marital life would have partial
debarred you, and that you are free
go and como as one who has the respo
sibilitics OF household can seido
be. God has not given you
hard lot as compared with yo
sisters. When young women shi
make up their minds at the start tn
masculine companionship is not nees
~ .sa sS .
e ~ "a = 20