Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-01-18
MARRYING MEN TO REFORM THEN
DR.. TALMAeE's SERMON SUNDAY, JAN. sTH.

BROOKLYN, January S.-The Rev. I. De-
Witt Talmage, DID,, preached at the Tab
ernacle this morning the fist of series of
sermons to the women of America, with
practical hints for men. The subject of this
discourse was: "The Women who Fight the
Battle of Life Alone" and the text was
from Proverbs xiv. 1: EVERY wise woman
buideth her house." DR.. Talmage said:
Woman a mere adjunct to man, an ap-
pendix to the masculine volume, an appen-
dage, sort of afterthought, something
thrown in to make things even-that is the
heresy entertained and implied by some
men. This is evident to them: Woman's
insigniicance as compared 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
priority of creation might prove that the
Cheep and the dog were greater than
Oman. 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 Bi-
BILE 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 alone. God makes
no mistake, and the fact that there is such
a large majority of women in this land
proves that He intended that multitudes of
them should go alone.
Who are these men who year after year
hang around hotels and eDgine-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
do? 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 vast multitude of women
not only support themselves, but mascu-
lines. great legion of men amount to
nothing, and woman by marriage mana
ced to one of these nonentities needs con.
dolence. A woman standing outside the
marriage relation is several thousand times
better off than a woman badly married.
MANY a bride, instead of a wreath of orange
blossoms, might more properly wear bunch
Af nettles and nightsbade, and instead OF
|Othe Wedding March. a more appropriate
tune would be the Dead March in Saul
and instead of banquet of confectionery
and ices, there might be more appropriately
spread 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 noticing that a
vulture was rapacious and cruel set about
to reform it and said: 81 have a mild dis
position, and like peace, and was brought
up in the quiet of dove cote, and l will
bring the vulture to the same liking by
marrying him." So one day after the vul-
ture had declared he would give up his
carnivorous habits and cease longing for
blood of flock aud herd, at an altar of rock
covered with moss and lichen the twain
were married, bald headed eagle oficiat
ing. the vulture saying. with all my do
minon of earth and sky thee eudow, and
promise to love and cherish till death do us
part" But one day the dove in her flight
saw the vulture buy at carcass and cried,
''Stop that Did you not promise me that
you would quit your carnivOrous and
filthy habits if 1 married you ?" Yes
said the vulture, ''but if you don't like
MY way you can leave" and with one
N1angry stroke of beak and another
fierce clutch of claw the vulture left
the dove eyeless and wingless and lifeless.
And flock of robins flying past cried to
each other and said, "See there That
comes from doves marrying vulture to
reform him."
Many woman who has had the hand of
a young inebriate offered but declined 1t, or
who was asked to chain her life to a man
selfish or of bad temper and refused the
shackles, will bless God throughout all eter.
nifty that she escaped that earthly Pande
monium.
Besides all this, in our country about one
million men were sacrificed in our civil war;
and that decreed a million women to cell
bacy. Besides that, since the war severa
armies of men as large as the Federal anC
Confederate armies put together have falier
under malt liquors and distilled spirits, SC
full of poisoned ingredients that the work
was done more rapidly, and the victims fel
while yet young. And if fifty Thousand
men are destroyed every year by strong
drink before marriage, that makes in the
| twenty three years since the war one mil
| lion one hundred and fifty thousand mel
slain, and DEGREES one million one hundred
and fifty thousand women TO ceibacy. Take
| then the fact that so many women are un
happy in their marriage, and the fact tina
the slaughter of two million one hundred
and fifty thousand men by war and run
com bined, decides that at least that numbe
of women shall be unbalanced for life
my text comes in with a cheer and
potency and appropriateness that
never saw in it before when it say
livery wise woman buildeth her house
Lthat is, let woman be her own architect
lay out her own plans, be her own su
pervisor, achieve her own destiny.