The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1894-06-21
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Martyrs of the Needle"


entrance of the wall OF the ancient city. as il
generally interpreted, or the eve Of a needle
such as is now handled in sewing a carmen
I do not say. In either case it would be
tight thing for camel to go through the ey'
ola needle. But there are whole caravans o
faigues and hardships going through thu
eye OF the sewing woman's needle.
Very long ago the needle was busy. i
was considered honorable for women to tot
in olden time. Alexander the Great stood il
his palace showing garments made by his
own mother. The finest tapestries at Bayeu1
were made by the Queen Of William the Con.
uueror. Augustus, the Emperor, would
not wear any garments except those that
were fashioned by some member OF his roya
family. So let the toiler everywhere be re-
spected.
The greatest blessing that could have hap
pened to our first PARENTS was being turned
out of Eden after they had done wrong.
Adam and Eve. in their perfect state. might
have got along without work or only such
slight employment as perfect garden, with
no weeds in it. demanded. But as soon as
they had sinned the best thing for them was
TO be turned out where they would have to
work We know what whitening thing it
is for man to have nothing to do Good old
Ashhel Green, at fourscore years, when asked
why he kept on working. said, 81 do so to
keep out of mischief" We see that man
who has large amount of money to start
with has no chance. OF the thousand pros
porous and honorable men that you know,
800 had to work vigorously at the beginning.
But am now to tell you that industry is
lust as important for woman's safety and
happiness. The most unhappy women in
our communities to-day are those who have
no engagements to call them up in the morn
ing who, once having risen and breakfasted,
lounge through the dull forenoon in slippers
down at the heel and with disheveled hair.
reading the last novel. and who. having
dragged through wretched forenoon and
taken their afternoon sleep, and having
spent an hour and a half at their toilet, pick
up their cardcase and go out to make calls,
and who pass their evenings waiting for
somebody to come in and break up the mo-
notony. Arabella Stuart never was impris-
onei in So dark a dungeon as that.
There is no happiness in an idle woman
1t may be with hand, it may be with brain,
il may be with foot, but work she. must or
be- wretched forever. The little girls of our
families must be started with that idea. The
curse of our American society is that our
young women are taught that the first. sec
ond, third, fourth, fifth, SIXTH seventh,
tenth, fiftieth, thousandth thing in their life
Is to get somebody to take care OF them. In
stead OF that the first lesson should be how,
under God, they may take care of themselves.
The simple fact is that a ma jority ofthem do
have to take care Of themselves. and that,
too. after having. through the false notions
of their parents, wasted the years in which
they ought TO have learned how successfully
to maintain themselves. We now and here
declare the inhumanity. cruelty and outrage
of that father and mother who pass their
daughters into womanhood. having given
them no facility for earning their livelihood.
Nine. de Stael said, at ia not these writings
that am proud OF. but the fact that l have
facility in ten occupations. in any one OF
which could make "A livelihood.
You say you have fortune TO leave them.
o man and woman, have you not learned
that, like vutures. like hawks, like eagles.
riches have wings and fly away? Though
YOU should be successful in leaving a COM
potency behind you. the trickery of execu-
tors may swamp it in a night. or some elders
or deacons OF our churches may get up
fictitious company and induce your orphans
to put their money into it, and if it be lost
prove to them that it was eternally decreed
that that was the way they were to lose it,
and that it went in the most orthodox and
heavenly style.
Oh the damnable schemes that protested
Christians will engage in-until Godputs His
fingers into the collar OF the hypocrte's robe
and rips it clear down the bottom. You
have no right, because you are well off, to
conclude that your children are going to be
as we'll off, A man died, leaving large
fortune. His son fell dead in a Philadelphia
grogshop. His old comrades came in and
said as they bent over his corpse, 'What is
the matter with you, Boggsey" The
surgeon standing over him said: Hush up
He's deadp "Ah. he is dead p they said.
Come, boys. let us 90 and take drink in
memory OF poor Boggsey"
Have you nothing better than money to
AL
send your daughters into the world with
empty brain and unskilled hand, you are
guilty of assassination, homicide. reciclde.
infanticide. There are women toilng in our
cities for SO and 81 per week who were the
daughters of merchant princes. These SUI
fering ones now would be glad to have the
crumbs that once fell from their fathers
table. That wornout, broken shoe that she
wears is the lneal descendant of the S12
CATERS in which her mother walked, and
that torn and faded calico had an
cestry of magnificent brocade that
swept Broadway clean without any ex-
pense to the street commissioners.
Though you live in an elegant residence and
fare sumptuously every day. let your daugh-
tiers feel 1t is a disgrace TO them not to know
how to work denounce the idea. preva-
lent in society, that, though our young wo-
men may embroider slippers and crochet
AMI make mats for lamps to stand on with
out disgrace the idea OF doing anything for
n livelihood is dishonorable. 1t is a shame
for young woman, belonging TO a large
family. TO be inefficient when the father tolls
his life away for her support. 1t is shame
for daughter to be idle while her mother
tolls at the washtub. 1t is as honorable TO
sweep house, make beds or trim hats as it is
10 twist u watch chain
AZ far as / can understand, the line of re-
spectability lies between that which is useful
and that which is useless. II women do that
which is of no value. their work is honora-
Bile. II they do practical work, it is dishon-
orable. That our young women may escape
the censure of doing dishonorable work
shall parttcuarize. You may knit tidy for
the back OF an armchair, but by no means
make the money wherewith TO buy the chair.
You may. with delicate brush. beautify q
mantel ornament, but die rather than earn
enough TO buy marble mantel. You may
learn artistic music until you can squat
Italian, but never sing "Ortonville" or "Old
Hundred" Do nothing practical il you
would in the eyes OF refined society preserve
your responsibility. l scout Theses finica
notions. l tell you no woman, any more
than man. has right to occupy a place il
this world unless she pays rent for H.
In the course of n lifetime you consume
whole harvests and droves ofcattle, and every
day you live breathe forty hogsheads of goot
pure air. You must by some kind OF useful
ness pay for all this. Our race was the last