Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1892-12-08

plenty uud insurance OF your fathers
house For prWatun and trials known to
God ant your own hc.rt. The morning Of
life wa flushed with promise. Troops ct
calumitc. since tncn lave made desperate
charge upon you. Darkness has come.
Sorrows nave sWooped like carrion birds
from the sNy and parked like iackals from
the tljehcJ. You stand amid your slain
anguish and VICE struck. Bizpah on thc
rock.
So it has been in all ages. Nashti must
doii the -panglrd robes OF t he Persian court
and 90 forth blasted from the palace gate.
JIagar exchanges oriental comfort for the
wilderness rf Bccrshcba. Mary, queen of
Scots, must pass out from flattery and
lOmp to SUtitr iruOLiniOus death in the
castle Of IothcfngHy The wheel Of for
tame keeps turning, and mansions and huts
exchange. aud he who rode the chariot
pushes he barrow. aud instead of he glare
Of featai lillts is the sinincrina of the peat
fire, and in The place of Saul's palace is the
rocl-the cold rock, the desolatr rock
But that i~ the place to which God comes
jacob with his head on a stone, saw the
shining latldcr. Israel in the desert beheld
the marSh8linG Of the fiery baton. John
on barren Patmos heard trumpeting and
the clappinp of wings and the 81 rolie of
seraphic fingers on golden harps. and
nothing Iut heavenly strength nrrved RA-
pah for her appalling mission amid the
scream Of wild bird. and the stealthy read
Of hungry monsters. The grandc,t visions
of glory. the most rapturouS experiences If
Christian love- the greatest tliumphs of
grace have come to the tried, and the hard
pressed and the betrayed, and the crushed
God stopping down from heaven o comfort
RiZpah on the rock
TIE HEEOISI or WOMAN.
Again the tragedy of the text displays
the courage of woman amid great emer-
oences What mot her or sister or daugh-
fer would dare to 90 out to fight the cor
morant and iacllal? Ri2pah did it. And
so would you if an emergency demanded
Woman is nHturally timid and shrinks
from exposure and depends on stronger
arms for the achievement of great enter
prises. And she is often troubled lest
there might be occasions demanding fort
tude when She would fail. Not So Some
of those who are afraid to look out of door
after nightfall, and who quake in the
darkness ut the least uncertain sound, and
who start at the slam of the door and turn
pale in a thunderstorm, if the day of trial
came, would be heroic and invulnerable.
God has arranged it SO that woman needs
Inc trumpet OF some great CONTEST Ol PUN
ciples or affection to rouse up her slumber-
ing courage. Then she will stand under
the cross fire of opposing hosts at Chalons
to give wine TO the wounded. Then she
will carry into prison and dark lane the
message of salvation. Then she will brave
the pestience. Deborah goes out to sound
terror into the heart of Gods enemies.
Abigail throws herself between raiding
party Of Infatuated men and her husbands
vineyards. RiHpah fights back the vul-
lures from the rock.
Among the Orkney islands an eagle
swoopcd and lifted a child to its eyrie far
up on the mountains. With the spring Of
panther the mother mounts hill above
bill. crag above crag, height above height.
The fire of her own eye outtlashes the glare
of the eagles, and with unmailed hand
stronger than the iron beal< and the ter
rible claw she hurls the wild bird down
the rocks In the French revolution Ca
Zotte was brought out to be executed, when
his daughter threw herself on the body Of
her father and said: strike, barbarians!
on CaurOt reach my father but through
my heart' The crowd parted, and linking
arms father and daughter walked out free.
DUringthc siege of Saragossa Augustine
carried refreshments to the gates. Arrv-
InG az lht battery Oh IOfJlllO She lOunu
that all the garrison had been killed. She
snatched match from the hand of dead
artiileryman and fired off IA twenty-sx
poundcr. then !eapcd on it and vowed she
would not leave it alive. The soldiers
looked IN and saw her daring and rushed
up and opened another tremendous fire on
the enemy.
The life Of James of Scotland was
threatened. Poets have sung those times.
ana able pens have fingered upon the story
Of manly endurance, but how few to tell
the story Of Cathaline Douglas, one of the
queens maids, who ran to bolt the door,
Int iound the nir had been taken away 50
as TO facilitate the entrance Of the ASSASSIN.
She thrust her arm into the staple The
murderer, rushing against it, her arm was
shattered. We; how many have since lived
and diea who never heard the touching,
self sacIhciua, heroic Story of Cathariue
Douglas and hrr poor shattered arm.
You know how calmly Nine. Roland
went o execution, ana how checrfuIIy ,Jo-
anna of Naples walked to the castle Of
NIrn md how f.ui.l,-sl,- MINI. (.,i,,,ol.li