The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-01-19

down, though all the rest keep stand
ing, o main, o woman. If you have
preserved your integrity and arc really
Christian, you have. first of all to thank
God, and | think next you have to
thank your mother. The most impress.
i've thing at the inauguration of jane
A. Garfield as president of the United
States was that after he had taken the
bar1 of office no turned round and in
tho presence Of the supreme court and
the senate of the United States kissed
his old mother. If / had time to take
statistics out of this audience, and |
could ask what proportion Of you who
are Christians owe your salvation under
God to maternal fidelity, think about
three-fourths Of you would spring to
your feet. "Hal ha!' said the soldiers
of the regiment to Charlie, one of their
comrades. "What has made the change
In your You used to like sin as well as
any of u.s." Pulling from his poke,
his mothers letter, In which, after tell
ing of some comforts she had sent him,
she concluded, 1--WE are all praying fof
you, Charlie, that you may be a Chris
han," he said, boys, that's the sem
tence."
THE NEEDLE ENTHRONED.
The trouble with Sisera S mother was
that. while sitting at the window Of my
text watching for news of her son froi,.
the battlefield, she had the two had
qualities of being dissolute and being
too fond of personal adornment. The
Bible account says: ''Her wise ladies
answered her yea. She returned answer
to herself: Have they not sped3 Have
they not divided the prey-to every
man damsel or two, to Sisera pr, >
of divers colors, prey of Divers color
of needlework, of divers colors of nee
titework on both sides2'" She max, $
no anxious utterance about the wound
ed in battle, about the bloodshed, about
the dying, about the dead, about Ii,
principles involved in the battle going
on, battle so important that the stars
and the freshets took part, and the clash
of swords was answered by the thunder
of the skies. What she thinks most Of
Is the bright colors of the wardrobes to
be captured and the needlework. ITO
Sisera a prey of divers colors, prey of
divers colors of needlework, of divers
colors of needlework on both sides.
Now neither Sisera's mother nor any
one else can say too much In eulogy of
the needle. 1t has made more useful
conquests than the sword. Pointed at
one end and with an eye at the other,
whether of bone or ivory, as in earliest
time; or of bronze, as In Pliny's time
or of steel, as in modern time; whether
laboriously fashioned as formerly by
one hand, or as now, when 100 work
men In factory are employed to make
the different parts of one needle, it is
an instrument divinely ordered for the
comfort, for the life, for the health, for
the adornment of the human race. The
eye of the needle hath seen more domes-
tic comfort and more gladdened power
ty and more Christian service than any
other eye. The modern sewing machine
has in no wise abolished the needle, but
rather enthroned it. Thank God for the
needlework, from the time when the
Lord Almighty from the heavens or
lered in regard to the embroidered door
Of the ancient tabernacle, Thou shalt
make hanging for the door of the tent
Of blue and purple and scarlet and fine
twined linen wrought with needle
work. down to the womanly hands
which this winter in this tabernacle are
presenting for benevolent purposes their
iieedlework. But there was nothing ex-
cept vanity and worldliness and social
splash in what Sisera's mother said
about the needlework she expected her
son would bring home from the battle.
And am not surprised to find that Sis
era fought on the wrong side when his
mother at the window of my text in
that awful exigency had her chief
Thought on dry goods achievement and
social display. God only knows how
man, homes have made shipwreck or
the wardrobe And that mother who
sits at the window watching for vain
glorious triumph of millinery and fine
colors and domestic pageantry will aft
er awhile hear as bad news from hel
children out in the battle of life as Sis
era IS mother heard from the struggle al
Esdraeloil.
AN APoSTRoPHE TO MOTHERS.
But if you still press the question
where's mother?" l will tell yor
where she is not, though once she wa
there. Some of you Started with hel
likeness in your face and her principle.
in your soul. But you have cast he,
out. That was an awful thing for yor
to do, but you have done it. That hard
grinding, dissipated look you never go
from her. If you had seen any on,
strike her, you would have struck hin
down without much care whether thu
blow was just sufficient or fatal; but
by boy, you have struck her down :
struck her innocence from your face ant
struck her principles from your soul
You struck her down. The tent pin
thft Jael drove three times into tn,
skull of Sisera was not so cruel as tn
stab you have made more than tire
times through your mothers heart. Blu
she is waiting yet, for mothers are SLOW
to give up their boys-waiting at som
window, it may be window on cart
or at some window in heaven. All 9th
ers may cast you off. Your wife ina.
seek divorce and have no more patienc
with you. Your father may disinheri
you and say, LET him never agail
darken the door of our house" Blu
there are two persons who do not Civ,
you up-God and mother.
How many disappointed mother
waiting at the window! Perhaps tn
panes of the window are not great glas
plate, bevel edged and lowered over b,
exquisite lambrequin, but the windoy
is made of small panes, would sa.
about six or eight of them, in summe
wreathed with trailing vine and Il
winter pictured by the Raphaels Of tn
forest, real country window. TIL
mother sits there knitting, or busy wit
her needle on homely repairs, when sh
looks up and sees coming across tn
bridge of the meadow brook stranger
who dismounts in front of the window
He lifts and drops the heavy knocker 0
the farmhouse door. Come in!' is tn