Milford chronicle., 1888-01-13
THE TABERNACLE SERMON.
1.-THE WOMEN WHO FIGHT THE BAT
TIES OF LIFE ALONE

is Able to BE Her Own Supervisor and
Achieve Her Own Dessiny-The story
Of the Dove and the Yulture.
BRooK1YN, Jan. s.-The Rev. T. Dewitt
Talmage, D. D., preached at the Tabernacle
this morning the first of a 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 buildeth her
house, DIR. Talmsge said;
Woman, a mere adjunct to man, an appen-
dix TO the masculine volume, something
thrown in to make things eyoa-that is the
heresy. entertained and implied by some Eian.
This is evident to them: Woman's insignih-
canoe, 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 sheep and
the dog were greater than man. Mol Woman
was an Independent creation, and was in
tended, 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 women who are harnessed for
| life in the marriage relation would be a
thousandfold better off if they were alone
/ God makes no mistake, and the fact that
there is such a large majority Of women in
I 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
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 cur
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 rela-
tion is several hundred thousand times better
off than a woman badly married Many q
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 BAN
quet 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! 4
Like when dove noticing that a vulture 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 l viii bring the vul5ure .
to the same liking by marrying him" So
one day after the vdlture 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
lchen, the twain were married, a bald headed
eagle officiating, the vulture saying: "With
all my dominion of earth and sky thee en-
dow, and promise to love and cherish till
death do US part" But one day the dove, in
her fight, 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 l married your "Yes,n
said the vulture, "but if you don't like my
way you can leave,n and with one angry
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
therel that comes from doves marrying a /
vulture to reform him.
Many woman who has had the hand of
young inebriate offered, but declined it, or
who wds asked to chain her life to q man
selfish or Of bad temper, and refused the
will bless God throughout all
eternity that she escaped that earthly pande-
mOnium
Besides all this, in our country about
l ,00J,000 men were sacrificed in our civil
war; and that decreed 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 50 full
Of poisoned ingredients that the work was
done more rapidly, and the victims fell while
yet young. And if SO, 900 men are destroyed
every year by strong drink before marriage, {
that makes in the twenty-three years since
The war 1,l50,000 men slain, and DEGREES
], 900 women to celibacy. Take then the {
fact that so many women are unhappy in t
their marriage, and the fact that the I
slaughter of ,, 10000 men by war and rum t
decides that at least that number
Of women shall be unbalanced for life, my y
ext comes in with a cheer and apotency and d
appropriateness that never saw in it before y
when it says, every wise woman buildeah }
ler house." that is let woman be her own v
lrchitect, lay out her own plan, be her own p
supervisor, achieve her own destiny. v
In addressing these women who Will have =
% fight the battle of life alone, 1 congratulate e
Tou on your happy escape. Rejoice forever S
hat you viii not have to navigate the faults d
# the other sex, when you have faults l.
nough of your own. Think of the bereave- b
nents you avoid, Of the risk Of unassimilnted o
emper which you will not have to run, of il
he cares you will never have to carry, and
# the opportunity Of outside usefulness from ST
which marital life would have partially de s.
,arred you, and that you are free to go and il
ome as one who has the responsibilities of a c.
ousehold can seldom be. God has not given t
-ou hard lot as compared with your sisters 81
When young women shall make up theii Il
minds at the start that masculine companion, n
hip is not a necessity in order to happiness al
nd that there is a strong probability that c.
hey win have to ight the battle of life it
lone, they viii be getting the timber ready "
Or their own fortune, and their saw and AK al
nd, plane sharpened for its construction. tf
lce ''every wise woman buildeth her 4
Ousen o.
As no boy ought to be brought up without Il
earning some business at which he could ii
arm a livelihood, so no girl ought to be n
rought up without learning the science OF W
alf support The difficulty is that many
lmily goes sailing on the high tides Of sue n,
sss, and the husband and father depends on eC
is own health and acumen for the welfare w
{ his household but one day be gets his feet r.
et, and in three days pneumonia has closed a
is life, and the daughters are turned out on II
cold world to earn bread, and there is Il,
othing practical that they can do. The IN
lends of the family come in and hold con- "
lltation. dr
"Givo music lessons,n says an outsider n
-es, that is a useful calling; and il you have m
reat genius for it go on in that direction ii,
ut there are enough smuslc teachers now 70
arving to death in all our towns and cities pa
occupy all the piano stools and sofas and Du
iails and front doorsteps Of the city. Be ~
he that the dannhLar has haan nlaNinr nnlN 70