The Russellville Democrat., 1890-01-30
SAVING A KING's LIFE.
An Application of the Saving of the Life of Young King Joash.
The Various Efforts to gtranele Chris tianity Have Always Resulted in a Fresh and More vigor-
 ous Growth.

mon in Paris, from the text:
 Jehosheha. the daughter of King Jorsm, sister of Ahaziah, took Joasb, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the Kings sons which were sl ain; aud they hid him, even him and his nurse, In the bed chamber from Athaliah, SO that he was not slain. And ho was with her hid in the house of the Lord six vears.--lI Kings, xii, ?, 3.
 Grandmothers are more lenient with their children's children than with their own. At forty years of age, if disci- pline be necessary, chastisement is used, but at seventy the grandmother, look ing upon the misbehavior of the grand child, Is apologetic, and disposed tosub- stitute confectionery for whip. There is nothing more beautiful than this mel lowing of old age toward childhood. Grandmother takes out her pocket handkerchief and wipes her spectacles and puts them on, and looks down into the face of the miscbieyous and rebel ious descendant, and says: q don't think he meant to do it; let him of this time; I'll be responsible for his be- havior in the future" My mother, with She second regeneration around her-a boisterous crew-said one day: "I sup
 pose they ought to be disciplined, but I can't do it. Grandmothers are not fit to bring up children" But here, in my text, we have grandmother of differ ent hue.
 l have within few days been in Je- rusalem, where the occurrence of the text took place, and the whole scene came yividly before me while was go- ing over the site of the ancient temple and climbing the towers of the Kings palace. Here in the text it is old Atha- liah, the queenly murderess. She ought to have been honorable. Her father was King. And yet we find her plotting for the extermination of the entire royal family, including her own grandchil- dren. The executioners' knives are sharpened. The palace is red with blood of Princes and Princesses On all sides are shrieks, and hands thrown up, and struggle, and death groan. No mercy Kill Kill But while the ivory floors of the palace run with carnage, and the whole land is under the shadow of great horror, fleet-footed woman, clergyman's wife, Jehosheba by name, stealthily approaches the imperial nursery, seizes up the grandchild that had somehow as yet escaped massacre, wrapped it up tenderly but in haste, snuggles it against her, flies down the palace stairs, her heart in her throat lest she be discovered in this Christian abduction. Get her out of the way as soon as you can, for she carries precious burden, even young King. With this youthful prize she presses into the room of the ancient temple, the church of olden time, unwraps the young King and puts him down, sound asleep as he is, and unconscious of the peril that has been threatened; and there for six years he is secreted in that church apartment. Meanwhile old Athaliah smacks her lips with satisfaction, and thinks that all the royal family are dead.
 But the six years expire, and it is now time for young Joash to come forth and take the throne, and to push back into disgrace and death old Athaliah. The arrangements are all made for political revolution. The military come and take possession of the temple, swear loy- alty to tho boy Joash and stand around for his defense. See the sharpened swords and the furnished shields Every thing is ready. Now, Joash, half affrighted at the armed tramp of his defenders, scared at the vociferation of his admirers, is brought forth in full re- galia. The scroll of authority is put in his hands, the coroneto of government is put on his brow, and the people clapped, and waved, and huzzaed, and trumpeted.
 ''What is that?" said Athaliah. What is thatsound over in the temple?"
 And she flies to see, and on her way they meet her and say: ''Why, haven't you heard? You thought you had slain all they royal family, but Joash has come to light"
 Then the queenly murderess, frantic with rage, grabbed her mantle and tore 1t to tatters, and cried until she foamed at the mouth:
 s.You have no right to crown my grandson. You have no right to take the government from my shoulders. Treasonl Treason!"
 While she stood there crying that, the l military started for her arrest, and she | took a short cut through a back door of | the temple and ran through the royal 1 stables; but the battle axes of the mili | tary fell on her in the barn-yard, and ! for many day, when the horses were | being unloosed from the chariot, after | drawing out young Joash, the fiery l steeds would sport and rear passing the l place, as they smelt the place of the | carnage.
 The first thought l hand you from | this subject is that the extermination of | righteousness is an impossibility. When | woman is good, she is apt to be very | good, and when she is bad, she is apt to | be very bad, and this Athaliah was one | of the latter sort. She would extermi | nate the last scion of the House of | David, through whom Jesus was to | come. There was plenty of work for ! embalmers and undertakers. She world | clear tho land of all God-fearing and | God-loying people. She would put an end to every thing that could in anywise | interfere with eyimperial criminality. l She folds her hands and says: ''Fhe | work .s done; it is completely done" Is it? In the swaddling clothes of that ! church apartment are wrapped the cause l of God, and the cause of good govern ment That is the scion of the house l of David; it is Joash, the Christian re- ormeT; 1t is Joash, the friend of God; is Joash, the demolisher of Baalitish ! ,ldolatry Rock him tenderly; nurse him gently. Athaliah, you may kill all the other children, but you can not kill him. Eternal defenses are thrown all around him, and this clergyman's wife, Jehosheba, will snatch him up from the palace nursery, and will run up and down with him into the house of the Lord, and there she will hide him for six years, and at the end of that time he will come forth for your dethrone- naent and obliteration.
 We'll. my friends, just as poor botch does the world always make of extin- gushing righteousness. Superstition rises up and says: 'i will just put an end to pure religion" Domitian slew forty thousand Christians Dioeletian