Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-06-27


whether to walk under triumphal arch OF
lift the sot out Of the ditch; whether 1t be tc
preach on Pentecost or tell some wanderer
OF the street Of the mercy Of the Christ OF
Mary Magdalene; whether it be tc
weave a garland for a laughing child on q
spring morning and call her a May queen, OF
TO comb out the tangled locksof a waif Of the
street and cut up one Of your old dresses tc
ut her out for the sanctuary-do 1t and do II
right away. Whether it be crown or a
yoke, do not fdgit Everlasting honors upon
those who do their work and do their whole
work, and are contented in the sphere in
which God has put them; while there is only
wandering, and exile, and desolation, and
wilderness for discontented Hagar and Ish-
mael
/ Again, 1 find in this Oriental seine a lesson
| Of sympathy with woman when she goes
forth trudging in the desert. What great
! changeit was for this Hagar. There was the
tent and all the surroundings of Abraham's
house. beautiful and luxurious no dorbt.
Now she is going out into the hot sands of
the desert. 0, whata change it wasl And in
our day we often see the wheel of fortune turn
Here is some one who lived in the very bright
home of her father. She had everything pos
sible to administer to her happiness Plenty
at the table. Music In the drawing ROOM
/ life by some one who cannot appreciate her.
A dissipated soul comes and takes her out in
the desert. Iniquities blot out all
the lights of that home circle.
Harsh words wear out her spirits. The high
hope that shone out over the marriage altar
while the ring was being set and the vows
given and the Lenediction pronounced ha. !,
/ all faded with the orange blossoms, and there
she is to-day, broken-hearted, thinking of past
joy and present desolation and coming an
guish. Hagar in the wildernessl
Here is q beautiful home. You cannot
think Of anything that can be added to it.
For years there has not been the suggestion
Of a single trouble. Bright and happy chill
dren fill the house with laughter and song.
Lounges to rest on. Cup Of domestic
joy full ard running over Dark
aight drops. Pillow hot. Pulses fiutter.
Eyes close. And the foot whose well known
steps on the door sill brought the whole
household out at eventide, crying: 'Father's
| coming" will never sound on the door sill
again. A long, deep grief plowed through
all that lightness Of domestic life. Paradise
Iostl Widowhood! Hagar in the wilderness!
How often it is we see the weak arm Of
| woman conscripted for this battle with the
rough world. Who is she, going down the
street in the early light Of the morning. pale
| with exhausting work, not half slept out
! with the slumbers of last night, tragedies Of
| suffering written all over her face her luster-
less eyes looking far ahead as though for the
| coming Of some other trouble? Her parents
| called her Mary, or Bertha, or Agnes on the
| day when they held her up to the font,
and the Christian minister sprinkled on
| the infants face the washings of a holy
| baptism. Her name is changed now. Ihear
1t in the shuttle of the worn out Shoes 1 see
/ it in the figure of the faded calico find it
| in the ineaments of the woe begone
| countenance. Not Mary, nor Bertha, nor
| Agnes, but Hagar in the wilderness. May
God have mercy upon woman in her tolls,
her struggles, her hardships, her desolation,
and may the great heart Of Divine sympathy
tnclose her forever.
Agains find in this Oriental scene the fact
that every mother leads forth tremendous
iestinies. You say: THAT isn't an unusual
scene, a mother leading her child by the
hand" Who is it that she is leading?
Tshmael, you say. Who is Ishmael? A great
nation is to be founded: nation SO strong
| that it is to stand for thousands Of years
against all the armies of the world. Egypt
and Assyria thunder against it., but in
vain. Gaulus brings up his army,
and his army is smitten. Alex
ander decides upon campaign, brings up his
hosts and dies. For long while that nation
monopolizes the learning of the world. It is
the nation Of the Arabs. Who founded it? Ish-
mael, the lad that Hagar led into the wilder
ness. She had no idea she was leading forth
such destinies. Neither does any mother.
You pass along the street, and see pass boys
and girls who will yet make the earth quake
with their influence. Who is that boy at
Sutton Pool, Plymouth, England,
6arefooted; wading down into the
l - e.1o L Rkz
bleeding and pain-struck? That wound in
the foot decides that he be sedentary in his
life, decides that he be student. That
wound by the glass in the foot decides that
q shall be John Kitto, who shall provide
the best streligious encyclopedia the world has
ever had provided, and with his other writ
ngs as well, throwing a light upon the
Word Of God such as has come from no other
man in this century. o mother, mother,
that little hand that wanders over your
face may yet be lifted to hurl thunderbolts
Of war, or drop benedictions. That little
voice may blaspheme God in the grog shop,
or cry: "Forwardw to the Lords hosts, as
they go out for their last victory. Ny mind
to-day leaps thirty years ahead, and I see a
merchant prince of New York. One stroke
Of his pen brings ship out of Canton. An
other stroke Of his pen brings ship into
Madras. He is mighty In all the money mar
kets Of the world. Who is he? He sits to-
day beside you in the Tabernacle. My mind
leaps thirty years forward from this
time, and find myself in a relief as
sociation. A great multitude of Chris
tian women have met together for generous
purpose. There is one woman in that crowd
who seems to have the confidence Of all the
Others. and they all look up to her for hel
counsel and for her prayers. Who is she
To-day you will find her in the Sabbath-school
while the teacher tells her of that Christ who
clothed the naked and fell the hungry anC
healed the sick. Ny mind leaps forward
thirty years from now, and fine
myself in an African jungle; anc
there is a missionary Of the cross ad
dressing the natives, and their dusky
countenances are irradiated with the glaf
he? Did you not hear his voice to-day in tn,
first song of the service? My mind leaps for
ward thirty years from now, and find my
self looking through the wickets of prison
I see face SCARED with every crime. Hi
chin on his open palm, his elbow on his kne'
"a picture Of despair. As Iopened the wick
ct he starts, and hear his chain clank. Tn,
Jail keeper tells me that he has been in thert
now three times. First for theft, the,
for arson, now for murder. H
steps upon the trap door, the rope is fastened
TO MS neck the plank falls, his body swing
into the air, his soul swings off into eternity
Who is he, and where is he? To-day playing
kite on the city commons. Mother, you ar
to-day hoisting throne or forging chain
you are kindling star or digging q dungeon
A good many years ago a Christian mothe
sat teaching lessons of religion to her child
and he drank in those lessons. She neve
knew that Lamphier would come forth ant
establish the Fulton street prayer meeting