The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1888-01-20
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Opening Discourse of the Series to
the Women of America
ssTbS Women Who Fight the Battle Of
Eife AlOne"--Advioe in Relation to
the Choice of Occupation for
Honorable SeIf-SuppOrt.


Honorable soIf-suppOrt.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage has Inaugural
ted his promised series of sermons to the
women of America, with practical hints
for men. The subject of the opening dis
course was: fsThe Women Who Fight
the Battle of Life Alone" and the text:
Every wise woman buildeth her house -
Proverbs xiv, /.
DIR. Talmage said; Woman is a mere
adjunct to man, an appendix to the mas
culine volume, an appendage, 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 insgnii-
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 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, il 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
women who are harnes sed for life in the
marriage relation would be a thousand
fold better of if they were alone. God
makes no mistake, and the fact that there
is such large majority 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
~ ,, &c Il
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 a vast multitude of women not
only support themselves, but ma soulines.
A great legion of men amount to nothing,
and a woman by marriage manacIed to
one of these nonentities needs coincidence.
A woman standing outside the marriage
relation is several hundred thousand times
better Off than woman badly married.
Many a bride, instead of a wreath of
orange blossoms, might more properly
wear a bunch of nettles and nigh tshade,
and instead of the wedding march 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
I
fair and inside 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 result? Like when dove, notic-
ing that a vulture was rapacious and
cruel, set about to oreform it, and said:
ST have a mild disposition and like
| peace, and was brought up in the quiet ol
| q dove cote, and I will bring the vulture
10 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 Gov
| cred with moss and lichen, the twain
were married, a bald-headed eagle ofaci-
ating, the vulture saying:
"With all my dominion of earth and
sky thee endow, and promise to love
| and cherish till death do us part"
But one day in her fight the dove
saw the vulture busy at carcass, and
cried:
sstop thatl did you not promise me
that you would quit your carnivorOus
and filthy habits if I married you?"
! eyes," 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 doves
marrying vulture to reform him."
! Many a woman who has had the hand
| of young inebriate offered, but decIin 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
al eternity that she escaped that earthly
! pand emonium.
Besides all this, in our country about
| one million men were sacrificed in our
| civil war, and that ecreed 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 DEGREES one million, one
| hundred and fifty thousand women to
celibacy. Take then the fact that sc
many women are unhappy in their mar
riage, and the fact that the slaughter Of
| two million, one hundred and fty thous
| and men by war and rum combined, de-
cides that at least that number of
women shall be unbalanced for
life. My text comes in with a cheer, and
a potency, and appropriateness that 1
| never saw in it before, when 1t says:
| ssEvery wise woman buiIdeth her house" "
That is, let woman be her own architect,
| lay out her own plans, be her own super
visor. achieve her own destiny.
In address sing 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 she 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 not have 10 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 90 and come as one who has
the responsibilities of a household can
| seldom be. God has not given you hard
! lot, as compared with your sisters. When
| young women shall make up their minds
at the start that masculine companionship
is not a necessity in order 70 hap
| piness, and that there is a strong proba-
/ biIity 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 sbarpened
for its construction, since every wise
woman buildeth her house"
As no boy ought TO be brought up with
out learning some business at which he
could earn a livelihood, so no girl ought
70 be brought up without learning the
seisnce ef seIf-support. The difficulty Il
thst many family go sailing ON the high
tides of success, and the husband and
father depends on his own health and
acuuen for the welfare Of his household;
but one day he gets his feet wet, and il
three days pneumonia has clo$ed his life
and the daughters are turned. out on 8
cold world TO earn bread, and there is moth.
ing practical that they can do. The