The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-07-10

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times to the grave, but always together
soothing your petty griefs, correcting
your childish waywardness, joining IN
Your infantile sports. listening to your even
| ing prayers. toiling for you with needle or
| at the spinning Wheel and on cold nights
| wrapping you up snug and warm. And then
at last on that day when she lay in the back
room dying, and you saw her take those thin
hands with which she had toiled for you so
long. and put them together In dying
prayer that commended YOU to the God
whom she had taught you to trust-oh, she
was the queen. The chariots Of God came
down to fetch her and as she went in all
heaven rose up. You cannot think OF her
now without rush of tenderness that stirs
the deep foundations of your soul, and you
feel rs much child again as when you cried
on her lap, and If you could bring her back
again TO speak just once more your name az
tenderly as she used to speak it you would be
willing to throw yourself on the ground and
tiss the. sod that covers her., crying,
'Mother. mother" All! she was the queen
tell me how many thousand miles
woman like that would have to
travel down before she got to the
ballot box? Compared with this
work of training kings and queens for God
and eternity. how insignificant seems all
this work of voting for aldermen and COM
mon councilmen and sheriffS and constables
and mayors and presidents! To make one
such grand woman as I have described how
many thousands would you want OF those
people who 60 in the round Of fashion and
dissipation, going as far toward disgraceful
apparel as they dare 60, go as not to be
arrested by the police-their behavior a sor-
row TO the good and a caricature OF the
vicious and IN insult to that God who made
them women and not gorgons. and trampin2
on. down through q frivolous and dissipated
life. to temporal and eternal damnation.
o woman. with the lightning Of your soul,
strike dead at your feet all these allurements
to dissipation and to fashion! Your immor.
sal soul cannot be fed upon such garbage.
God calls you up to empire and dominion.
heart: give to God all your best energies;
give to God all your culture: give to God all
your refinement; give yourself to Him, for
this world and the next. Soon all these
bright eyes will be quenched and these voices
will be hushed. For the last time you will
look upon this fair earth. Fathers hand,
mothers hand, sisters hand, child's hand
will no more be in yours. 1t will be night,
and there will come up cold wind from the
Jordan and you must start. Will it be lone
woman on trackless moor? Ah, no! Jesus
will come up in that hour and offer His
hand, and He will say, 'You stood by Me
when you were well; now will not desert
you when you are sick" One wave of His
hand and the storm will drop. and another
wave OF His hand and midnight shall break
into midnoon, and another wave OF His hand
and the chamberains of God will come down
from the treasure houses Of heaven with
robes lustrous, blood washed and heaven
glinted. in which You will array yourself for
the marriage supper Of the Lamb. And then
with Miriam, who struck the timbel OF the
Red Sea, and with Deborah, who led the
Lords host into the fight, and with Hannah,
Mary, who rocked Jesus to sleep while there
were angels singing IN the air, and with
sisters of charity, who bound up the battle
wounds Of the Crimea, you will. from the
chalice OF God, drink to the souls eternal
rescue.
Your dominion is home, o woman! What
a brave fight for home the women OF Ohio
made some ten or fifteen years ago, when
they banded together and in many OF the
towns and cities Of that State. marched in
procession. and by prayer and Christian
songs shut upmore places Of dissipation than
were ever counted! Were they opened
again? Oh. yes. But is it not good thing
to shut up the gates of hell for two orthree
months? 1t seemed that men engaged in the
business of destroying others did not know
how to cope with this kind Of warfare. They
knew how to fight the Maine liquor law and
they knew how to fight the National Temper
ance Society, and they knew how to fight the
Sons of Temperance and Good Samar-
itanS, but when Deborah appeared upon
the scene Sisera took to his feet and
got to the mountains. It seems that
they did not know how to contend against
Coronation and 'Old Hundred" and
"Brattle Street" and Bethany" they were
they could not accomplish much against
that kind of warfare, and in one OF the cities
a regiment was brought out all armed to
disperse the women. They came down In
battle array. but, oh, what poor success! for
that regiment was made up OF gentlemen,
and gentlemen do not like to shoot women
with hymnhooks in their hands. Oh, they
found that cunning for female prayer meet.
ing was very poor business. No real
damage was done, although there was threat
OF violence after threat OF violence all over
the land. I really think il the women
Of the East had as much faith in God as their
sisters Of the West had and the same reck-
lessness Of human criticism, really believe
that iu one month three-fourths OF the
grogshops of our cities would be closed, and
there would be running through the cutters
of the streets Burgundy and cognac, and
Heidsick and old port and Schiedam
and lager beer, and you would
save your fathers and your husbands and
your sons first from drunkard's grave and
secondly from a drunkard's hell. TO this
battle for home let all women rouse them
selves. Thank God for our early home.
Thank God for our present home. Thank
God for the coming home in heaven.
had hnan nvnlo rprrytfh
the children for some time, I lay down on
the lounge to rest. The children said play
more. Children always want to play more.
And, half asleep and half awake, I seemed to
dream this dream 1t seemed to me that I
was in far distant land-not Persia. al
though more than Oriental luxuriance
crowned the cities; nor the tropics although
more than tropical fruitfulness filled the
gardens; nor Italy, although more than
Italian softness filed the air. And wan
Gered around looking for thorns and nettles,
but found none of them grew there. And
I walked forth, and saw the sun RISE and
l said, when will it set again2" and the
sun sank not. And saw all the people in
holiday apparel, and I said, "When do
they put on workingman's garb again
and delve in the mine and swelter at the
forge?" But neither the garments nor the
robes did they put of. And 1 wandered in
the suburbs. and I said, Where do they
bury the dead Of this great city?" And
looked along by the hills where it would be
most beautiful for the dead to sleep, ana I
saw castles and towns and battlements, but
not a mansoleum nor monument nor white
slab could I see. And went into the great
chapel OF the town, and said: Where do
the poor worship? Where are the benches
on which they st?' And a voice answered,
I'VE have no poor in this great city"
And wandered out, seekingt to find the
place where were the novels Of the destitute,
and found mansions OF amber and ivory
and gold. but no tear did l see or sigh hear.