The Russellville Democrat., 1888-01-19
TALMb.GE'S SERMON.
Opening Discourse of the Series to
 the Women of America.
"Tbe Women Who Fight the Battle Of Life AIone"--Advice In Relation to the Choice of Occupation for
 Honorable Self-Support-

Tor men, The suD1ect OF tue opeuAhs "io course was: "The Women Who Fight the Battle of Life Alone," and the text;
 Every wise woman buildeth her house. Proverbs xiv, 1.
 Dr. Talmage said Woman Is mere adjunct to man, an appendix to the mas. culine volume, an nppendage, sort Of after-thought, something thrown in to make things even--that is the heresy en- tertained and implied by some men. This is evident to them: Woman's insignih- canoe as compared 10 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 the argument drawn from priority of creation might prove that the sheep and the dog were greater than man. No, woman was an indepen- dent creation, and was intended, if she chose, to live alone, to walk alone, act alone, think alone, and fight the battle of life 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 thousand- fold better off if they were alone. God makes no mistake. and the fact that there is such a large ma jority of women in this land proves that he intended that multi tudes of them should go alone
 Who are these men who year after year hang around hotels and engine houses and theater 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 ,f pf pitiag rnnl1 be taken on this subject you would find that vast multitude of " omen not only support themselves, but ma sculines. great legion of men amount to nothing, and a woman by marriage manacied to one of these nouentites needs condolence' woman standing outside the marriage relation Is several hundred thousand times better off than woman badly married. Many bride, instead Of a wreath of orange blossoms, might more properly wear bunch of nettles and nightshade, and instead of the wedding march more appropriate tune would be the Dead March in Saul, and instead of banque of confectionery and ices there might be more appropriately spread a table covered with apples of Sod om, which are outside fair and in side ashes.
 Many an attractive woman of good, sound sen SC in other things, has married one of these men to reform him. What was the resats Like when dove, notic- ing that vulture was rapacious and cruel, set about to reform it, and said.
 Il have q mild disposition and 1 like peace, and was brought up in the quiet of dove cote, and I will bring the yulture to the same liking by marrying him."
 So one day, after the vulture had de- clared he would give up his carnivorous habits and cease longing for blood of flock and herd, at an altar of rock cov- cred with moss and lichen, the twain were married, a bald headed eagle offici- ating. the vulture saying;
 "With all my dominion of earth and sky I thee endow, and promise to love and cherish till death do us part"
 But one day in her flight the dove saw the vulture busy 1t a carcass, and cried.
 ''Stop that! did you not promise me that you would quit your carnivorous and filthy habits if I married you?"
 "Yes," said the vulture, 'but if you don't like my way you can leave," and with one angry stroke of beak and an- other fierce clutch of claw the vulture left the dove eyeless, and wingless, and lifeless. And a flock of robins flying past cried to each other and said:
 '.See there! that comes from a dove's marry ing a vulture to reform him."
 Many q woman who has had the hand of a young inebriate offered, but declin ed it, 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 eternity that she escaped that earthly pandemonum.
 Besides all this, in our country about
 toad in, nttR civil war, and that decree1 one million 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 ingredients that the work was done more rapidly, and the victims fell 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 million, one hundred and fifty thousand men slain, and deorees one million, one hundred and fifty thousand women to celibacy. Take then the fact that so many women are unhappy in their mar riage, and the fact that ths slaughter of two million, one hundred and fifty thous- and men by war and rum combined, de-
 
 women shall be unafiianced for life. My text comes in with cheer, and potency. and appropriateness that nsver saw in t before, when it says: "Every wise woman buildeth her house." That is, let woman be her own architect, lsy out her own plans, be her own super visor. achieve her own destiny.
 In addressing these women who will have to fight the battle of life alone, congratulate you on your happy escape. Rejoice forever that you will not have to navigate the faults of the other sex, when you have faults enough of your own. Think of the bereavements you avoid, of the risk of unassimilated temper which you will net have to run, of the cares you will never have to carry, and of the opportunity of outside usefulness from which marital life would have partially debarred you, and that you are free to go and come one who has the responsibilities of household can SC dom be. God has not given you hard lot, as compared with your sisters. When young women shall lake up their minds at the start that masculine companionship is not a necessity in order to hap piness, and that there Is a strong proba- bility that they will have to fight the bat tie of life alone, they will be getting the timber ready for their own fortunes, and their saw and axe and plane sharpened for it's construction, since "every wise woman buildeth her house"
 As no boy ought to be brought up with out learning some besiness at which he could earn a livelihood, so no girl ought to be brought up without learning the science of self-support. The difficulty is that many family go sailing on the high tides of success, and the husband and father depends on his own health and acumen for the welfare of his household; {; but one day he gets his feet wet and iR three days pneumonia has closed his life, and the daughters are turned out on a cold world to earn bread, and there is noth- fnu nractical that they can do Tha