The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-12-09

have swooped like carrion birds from
the sky and barked like jackals from
the thicket. You stand amid your
slain anguished and woe struck. Rig
pah on the rock.
So it has been in all ages. Vashti must
doff the spangled robes Of the Persian
court and go forth blasted from the pal
ace gate. Hagar exchanges oriental
comfort for the wilderness of Beer
sheba. Mary, queen of Scots, must pass
out from fiattery and pomp to suffer
ignominious death in the castle of Foth-
eringay. The wheel Of fortune keeps
turning, and mansions and huts ex-
change, and he who rode the chariot
pushes the barrow, and instead of the
glare of festal lights is the simmering
of the peat fire, and in place of Saul's
palace is the rock-the cold rock, the
desolate rock.
VERY PRESENT HELP IN TIME OF
TROUBLE.
But that is the place to which God
comes. Jacob, with his head ON stone,
saw the shining ladder. Israel in the
desert beheld the marshaling of the fiery
baton. John on barren Patmos heard
trumpeting, and the clapping of wings,
and the stroke of seraphic fingers on
golden harps, and nothing but heavenly
strength nerved Rizpah for her appalling
mission amid the scream Of wild birds
and the stealthy tread Of hungry mon
sters. The grandest visions Of glory, the
most rapturous experiences of Christian
love, the greatest triumphs of grace have
come to the tried, and the hard pressed,
and the betrayed, and the crushed God
STOPPING down from heaven to comfort
Rizpah on the rock.
AgAn, the tragedy of the text dis
plays the courage of woman amid great
emergencies. What mother or sister or
daughter would dare to go out to fight
the cormorant and jackal? Rizpah did
it. And so would you if an emergency
demanded. Woman is naturally timid
and shrinks from exposure and depends
ON stronger arms for the achievement of
great enterprises. And she is often
troubled lest there might be occasions
demanding fortitude when she would
fail Not so. Some of those who are
afraid to look out of the door after night
fall, and who quake in the darkness at
the least uncertain sound, and who start
at the slam of the door and turn pale
in thunderstorm, if the day Of trial
came, would be heroic and invulnerable.
God has arranged it so that that wom-
an needs the trumpet of some great con-
test of principle or affection to rouse up
her slumbering courage. Then she will
stand under the crossfire of opposing
hosts at Chalons to give wine to the
wounded. Then she will carry into
prison and dark lane the message of sal
walton. Then she will brave the pesti-
lence. Deborah goes out to sound ter
ror into the hearts of Gods enemies.
Abigail throws herself between raiding
party Of Infatuated men and her hus-
bands vineyards. Rizpah fights back
the vultures from the rock.
Among the Orkney islands an eagle
swooped and lifted child to its eyrie
far up on the mountains With the
spring Of a panther the mother mounts
hill above hill, crag above crag, height
above height, the fire of her own eye
outfashing the glare of the eagles, and
with unmailed hand stronger than the
iron beak and the terrible claw she
hurls the wild bird down the rocks.
In the French revolution Gazette was
brought out to be executed, when his
daughter threw herself on the body of
her father and said: Strike, barbarians!
You cannot reach my father but through
my heart" The crowd parted, and link
ing arms father and daughter walked
out free.
During the siege of Saragossa Angus
tina carried refreshments to the gates.
Arriving at the battery of Portillo she
found that all the garrison had been
killed. She snatched a match from the
hand of dead artilleryman and fired off
a twenty six FOUNDER, then leaped on it
and vowed she would not leave it alive.
The soldiers looked in and saw her dar-
ing and rushed up and opened another
tremendous fire on the enemy.
MADE HEROIC BY LOVE.
The life of James of Scotland was
threatened. Poets have sung those
times and able pens have fingered upon
the story of manly endurance, but how
few to tell the story of Catharine Doug
las, one of the queens maids, who ran
to bolt the door, but found the bar had
been taken away SO as to facilitate the
entrance of the assassin! She thrust her
arm into the staple. The murdVers
rushing against it, her arm was shat
tered. Yet how many have since lived
and died who never heard the touching,
self sacrificing, heroic story of Catharine
Douglas and her poor, shattered arm!
You know how calmly Mime. Roland
went to execution and how cheerfully
Joanna of Naples walked to the castle
of Muro, and how fearlessly Nine. Gri-
| maldi listened to her condemnation, and
how Charlotte Corday smiled upon the
frantic mob that pursued her to the gnil-
lotine. And there would be no end te
the recital if l attempted to present al
| the historical incidents which show thai
| wolnan's courage would rouse itself fol
| great emergency.
But | need not go so far. You have
known some one who was considered {
mere butterfly in society. Her hand hat
known no toll. Her eye had wept no teal
over misfortune. She moved among
obsequious admirers as careless as al
insect in field of blossoming buckwheat
But in 1867 financial tempest struck thu
husbands estate. Before he had tim
to reef sail and make things snug TIL
ship capsized ard went down. EneE,ie
cheered at the misfortune and wondere,
what would become of the butterfly
Good men pitied and said she would di
of broken heart.
'She will not work." say they, "an'
she is too proud to beg" But the prophe
cies have failed. Disaster has trans
formed the shining sluggard into prac
teal worker-happy as prime =
though compelled to hush her own chill
to sleep and spread her own table an
answer the ringing of her own doorbell
Her arm had been muscled for the cor
fict against misfortune, hunger an
poverty and want, and all the othe
jackals Rizpah scares from the rock.
THv PATIENT, ToILING MOTHER.
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