The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-12-16

wings, and the stroke of seraphic fin
gers on Golden harps, and nothing but
heavrr strength nerved Rizpah for
her appalling mission amid the screams
of wild birds and the stealthy tread of
hungry monsters. The grandest visions
of glory, the most rapturous expert
ences of Christian love, the grandest
triumphs of grace have come to the
tired and hard pressed and the betrayed
and the crushed. God STOPPING down
from Heaven to comfort Rizpah on the
rock.
Again the tragedy of the text displays
the courage of women amid great emer-
gencies. What mother, or sister, or
daughter would dare to go out and
fight the cormorant and jackal? Riz-
pah did it And so would you if an
emergency demanded. Woman is
naturally timid and shrinks from ex-
posture and depends on stronger arms
for the achievement of great enter
prises. And she is often troubled lest
there might be occasions, demanding
| fortitude when she would fall Not so.
Some of those who are afraid to look
out of doors after nightfall and who
quake in the darkness at the least I'M
certain 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
the trumpeter of some great contest of
principle or affection to rouse up her
slumbering courage Then she will
stand under the cross fire OF opposing
hosts ut 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
pestilence. Deborah goes out to sound
terror into the heart of Gods enemies
| Abigail throws herself between a raid
| ing party of Infatuated men, and her
husbands vineyards. Rizpah fights
back the vultures from the rock.
Among the Orkney islands an eagle
swooped and lifted child to its eyrie,
| far mp on the mountains. With the
spring of panther, the mother mounts
hill above hill, crag above crag, height
above height. The fire of her own eye
outflashing the glare of the eagles.
And with unmailed hand stronger than
the iron beak and the terrible claw,
she hurled 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! You cannot reach my father
but through my heartl" The crowd
| parted, and linking arms father and
daughter walked out free. During the
siege of Saragossa, Augustine carried re-
| freshments to the gate. Arriving at
the battery of Portillo she found that
all the garrison had been killed She
snatched a match from the hand of n
dead artillerymau and fired off n
| 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. And
there would be no end to the recital if
attempted to present all the historical
| incidents which show that woman's
courage will rouse itself for great emer-
gency.
| known some one who was considered a
mere butterfly in society. Her hand
had known no toll Her eye had wept
no tear over misfortune. But in eight
cen hundred and sixty-seven fnacial
tempest struck the husban's estate.
Before he had time to reef sail
and make things snug the ship
capsized and went down. Enemies
cheered at the misfortune and won
dered what would become of the but
terfly Good men pitied and said
she would die of broken heart. ''She
will not work" say they, land is too
proud to beg" But the prophecies have
failed Disaster has transformed the
| shining sluggard into practical
worker. Happy as n princess though
compelled to hush her own child
to sleep and spread her own table and
answer the ringing of her own door
bell Her arm had been muscled for
the conflict against misfortune, hunger
and poverty and want and all the other
| jacl1als Rizpath scares from the rock.
saw one in q desolate home. Her
| merciless companion had pawned even
| the children's shoes for rum. From
honorable ancestry she had come down
| to this. The cruise of oil was empty and
| the last candle gone out Her faded
frock was patched with fragments of
| antique silk that she had worn on the
| bright marriage day. Confident in God
she had a strong heart to which her
children ran when they trembled at the
staggering step and quailed under d
fathers curse. Though the heavens
were filled with fierce wings and the
thickets CRASHED with rage, Rizpah
watched faithfully day after day and
| year after year and wolf and cormorant
by her God strengthened arm were
hurled down the rock.
Now, ask, if mere natural courage
can DO so much, what may we not ex-
| pect of women who have gazed on the
Great Sacrifice, and who are urged for
ward by all the voices of grace that
sound from the Bible, and all the notes
of victory that speak from the sky.
Many years ago the Forfarshire steamer
started from Hull bound for Dundee.
After the vessel had been out little
while, the winds began to rave
and pillows rise until a tempest
was upon them. The vessel leaked
and the fires went out, and
though the sails were hoisted fore and
aft, she went speeding toward the
breakers. She struck her bows fore
most on the rock. The vessel parted.
Amid the whirlwind and the darkness
all were lost but nine. These chung to
the wreck on the beach. Sleeping that
night in Longstone lighthouse was a
girl of gentle spirit and comely coun-
tenance. As the morning dawns, l see