Democratic messenger., 1894-06-09
THE EIEOF \ NEEDLE
REV. Or. TALMAGE SPEAKS FOR woM-
EN- WHO TOLL.

The blessing and the blight of Work Body
and soul Upon the Rack Wen and wom-
rn Oppressors Woninn's Highest Adorn-
mcnt.
BRooKLYS. June >. Rev T. De Witt
ralmagc. who IS HONS 6n his round the
world journey. hai chosen aS the subject
for today Martyrs of the Needle" the
text being Matthew xix. -. 1T is
Easier for camel to 20 through the eye
of needle. =
Whether this ''cye of the needle" he
The small gate at the side of the big
gate at the entrance of the wall Of the
Incient city, as is generally interpreted,
nr the eve of a needle such as is now
handled in sewing a garment l do not
say In either case il would bc tight
thing for camel To go through the eye
of n needle But there are whole cara
vans of fatigucs and hardships going
through the eye of the sewing woman's
needle
Very long ago the needle was busy.
II was considered honorable for women
TO toll in olden time. Alexander the
Great stood i'll his palace showing gar
ments made by his own mother. The
finest tapestries at Bayeux We're made
by the queen of William the Conqueror.
Augustus, the emperor, would not wear
any garments except those that We're
fashioned by some member Of his royal
I l.t L.,
respected
The greatest blessing that could have
happened to our first parents was be-
! ing 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 en-
ployment as perfect garden. with no
weeds in il, demanded. But as soon as
they had sinned the best thing for them
was TO be turned out where they would
have 10 work. We know what wither-
ing thing it is for n man to have moth
J ingto do. Good old Ashbcl Green, at
fourscore years, when asked why he
kept on working, said, Il do so TO keep
ont of mischief. We see that man
who has large amount Of money to
start with has no chance. OF the thou
sand prosperous and honorable men that
you know. 999 had TO work vigorously
ut the beginning.
The Idle Woman.
But am now to tell you that indus
try is just as important for a womall's
safety and happiness. The most unhap-
py women in our communities today are
those who have no engagements to call
them up i'll the morning: who. once
having risen and breakfasted, lounge
through the dull forenoon in slippers
down at the heel and with dishevcled
hair, reading the last novel, and who,
having dragged through n wretched
forenoon and taken their afternoon
sleep, and having spent an hour and a
half Mt their toilet, pick up their cardcase
and go out to make calls and who pass
their evenings waiting for somebody to
como in and break up the monotony.
Arabella Stuart never was imprisoned in
so dark dungeon as that.
There is no happiness in an idle wom-
an. 1t may be with hand, it may be
with brain, il may be with foot, but
Z
work she must or be wrctched forever.
The little girls of our families must he
started with that idea. The curse Of
our American society is that our young
women are taught that the first, second,
third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh,
tenth, fiftieth. thousandth thing i'll their
life is TO get somebody to take care Of
them. Instead of that the first lesson
should be how, under God, they may
take care of themselves. The simple
fact is that majority of them do have
TO take care of themselves. and that,
too, after having. through the false no.
tions of their parents, wasted the years
in which they ought TO have learned
how successfully to maintain them
selves. We now and here declare the
inhumanity. cruelty and outrage of that
father and mother who pass their daugh-
ters into womanhood, having given
them no facility for earning their liveli-
hood. Mime. de Stael said, 1T is not
these writings that am proud Of, but
the fact that have facility in 10 occu-
pations, in any one of which / could
make a livelihood. 3"
a Word to Parents.
You say You have fortune to leave
them. o man and woman, have you