Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1889-12-13

give you the history of Buddhism and No
hammedanism, who never sent farthing
for their evangelization. There are women
who talk beautifully about the suffering of
the world, who never had the courage like
Dorcas to take the needle and assault it.
am glad that there is not a page of the
worlds history which is not record of fe.
male benevoience God says TO all lands and
people, Come now and hear the widows mite
rattle down into the poor box. The Princess
of Cont sold all her jewels that she might
help the famine stricken. Queen Blanche
the wife of Louis VIII, of France hearing
that there were some persons unjustly in
generated in the prisons, went out amidst
the rabbe and took a stick and struck the
door as a signal that they might all strike it,
and down went the prison door and out
came the prisoners. Queen Maud, the
wife of Henry J., went down amidst the
Door and washed their sores and adj
ministered to them cordials. Mrs. ROBSON,
at Matagorda, appeared on the battlefield
while the missiles of death were flying
around, and cared for the wounded Is
there man or woman who has ever heard
Of the Civil War in America who has not
heard of the women of the Sanitary and
Christian commissioners, OF the fact that, be-
fore the smoke had gone up from Gettysburg
and South Mountain, the women of the
North met the women of the South on the
battlefield forgetting all their animosities
while they bound up the wounded, and closed
the eyes Of the slain? Dorcas the benefac-
tress.
1 come now to speak of Dorcas the
lamented. When death struck down that
good woman, oh, how much sorrow there
was in this town Of Joppa! l suppose there
were women here with larger fortunes
women perhaps, with handsomer faces; but
there was no grief at their departure like this
at the death Of Dorcas. There was not more
turmoil and upturning in the Mediterran-
can Sea, dashing against the wharves of this
seaport, than there were surgings to and fro
of grief because Dorcas was dead. There
are great many who go out of life and are
unmissed. There may be a very large
funeral; there may be great many carriages
and plumed hearse; there may be high
sounding eulogiums; the bell may toll at the
cemetery gate; there may be very fine
marble shaft reared over the resting place;
but the whole thing may be falsehood and
sham. The church of God has lost nothing,
the world has lost nothing. II is only
nuisance abated; it is only q grumbler ceas-
ing to find fault; it is only an idler stopped
yawning; it is only dissipated fashionable
parted from his wine collar; WHILE on
the other hand, no useful Christian leaves
this world without being missed. The church
of God cries out like the prophet. Howl,
fir tree, for the cedar has fallen" Widow
hood comes and shows the garments which
the departed had made Orphans are lifted
up to look into the calm face Of the sleeping
benefactress. Reclaimed vagrancy comes
and kisses the cold brow of her who charmed
it away from sin, and all through the streets
of Joppa there is mourning mourning be-
cause Dorcas isdead.
When Josephine of France was carried
out to her grave, there were a great many
men and enof pomp and pride and posi-
had, III och
affected by the story Of history that on that
day there were ten thousand Of the poor Of
France who followed her coffin weeping aud
Waillng until the air rang again, because,
when they lost Josephine, they lost
their last earthly friend. Oh, who
would not rather have such obse.
quies than all the tears that were
ever poured in the lachrymals that have
been exhumed from ancient cities There
may be no mass for the dead; there may be
no costly sarcophagus; there may be no
elaborate mausoleum; but i'll the damp eel
lars of the city, and through the lonely huts
Of the mountain glen, there will be mourn
ing, mourning, mourning, because Dorcas is
dead. BLESSED are the dead who die in the
Lord; they rest from their labors, and their
works do follow them"
| speak to you of Dorcas the resurrected
The apostle cameto where she was and said:
"Arise; and she sat upr In what short
compass the great writer put that-"She sat
up" Oh, whata time there must have been
around this town, when the apostle brought
her out among her old friends How the
tears of joy must have started What clap
ping of hands there must have been! What
singing! What laughter Sound it all
through that lane Shout it down that dark
alley! Let all Joppa hear it! Dorcas is res
directed!
You and have seen the same thing meuy
a time; not a dead body resuscitated, but
the deceased coming up again after death in
the good accomplished. If man labors up
to fifty years Of age, serving God and then
dies, we are apt to think that his earthly
work is done. No. His influence on earth
will continue till the world ceases. Services
rendered for Christ never stop. A Christian
woman tolls for the upbuiding of a church
through many anXietGS, through
many self denals, with prayers
and tears, and then she dies 1t is fifteen
years since she went away Now the spirit
Of God desccndE upon that church, hundreds
of souls stand up and confess the faith of
Christ. Has that Christian women, who
went away fifteen years ago nothing to do
with these things? [ see the Towering out of
her noble heart. | hear the echo of her foot
steps in all the songs over sins forgiven, in
all the prosperity Of the church The good
that seemed to be buried has come up again.
DorcaS is resuTrected
After while all these womanly friends
of Christ will put down their needle forever
After making garments for Others some one
will make garment for them; the last robe
we ever wear-the robe for the grave. You
will have heard the last cry of pain. You
will have witnessed the last orphanage. You
will have come in worn out from your last
round of mercy do not know where you
will sleep, nor what your epitaph will be;
but there viii be lamp burning at that tomb
and an angel of God guarding it, and through
all the long night no rude foot will disturb
the dust. Sleep on, sleep on Soft bed,
pleasant shadows, undistnrbed repose! Sleep
| onl
Asleep in Jesus! Blessed slsepl
From which none ever wake to weep
! Then one day there will be a sky rending,
| and a whirl of wheels, and the flash of q
pageant; armies marching chains clanking,
! banners waving, thunders booming and that
| Christian woman will arise from the dust
and she will be suddenly surrounded-sur
rounded by the wanderers of the street whom
she reclaimed, surrounded by the wounded
souls TO whom she administered Daughter
| of God, so strangely surrounded, what means
this? 1t means that reward has come, that
the victory is won, that the crown is ready,
that the banquet is spread. Shout it through
| all the crumbling earth. Sing it through
all the flying heavens. Dorcas is resurrected!
In 1855, when some of the soldiers came
back from the Crimean war to London, the
| Queen Of England distributed among them
beautiful medals, called Crimean medals.
Galleries were erected for the two houses of
Parliament and the royal family to sit in.
There was great audience to witness the
distribution of the medals. A Colonel who
had lost both fee5 in the battle Of Inkerman
was pulled in OH wheel chair; others came
in limping on their crutches Then the Queen
arose before them in the name of her
government, and uttered words of common
dation to the officers and mon, and distrib-
uted these medals, inscribed with the four
great battleGelds, Alma, Balaklava, Inker-