The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1896-07-23
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
.UNDAY,s DISCOURSE BIZ TINE
HoTEp axvIHk
Subject "Woman and Her Sacri-
fees"

she was falr to look on but tno queen
vashti refused to come at the kings com
mandments by his chamberlains; therefore
was the king very wroth, and his anger
burned him. Esther l., II, IL.
We stand amid the palaces OF Shusham.
The pinnacles arc aflame with the morning
light The columns rise festooned and
wreathed. the wealth OF empires flashing
from the grooves, the ceilings adorned with
images Of bird and beast and scenes OF
powers and conquest. The walls are hung
with shields and emblazoned until it seems
that tho whole round of splendors Is eX-
hausted. Each arch is a mighty leap 81
architectural achievement. Golden stars
shining down on glowing urabesque. Hang
ings of embroidered work in which mingle
the bucpess Of the sky, the greenness of the
grass and the wilderness OF the sea foam.
Tapestries hung on silver rings. wedding to-
gether the pillars of marble. PaviliQns
reaching out in every direction, These for
repose, filed with laNuriant touches, into
which weary limbs sink until all fatigue is
submerged. These for caroual, where
kings drink down n Kingdom at one swallow.
Amazing spectacle! Light of silver dripping
down over stairs Of ivory on shields of gold.
Floors of stained marble, sunset red and
night black and inlaid with cleaning pearl,
| Why, it seems as II heavenly vision OF anne
| thyst and jacinth and'topaz and chrysoprashs
had descended aud aliShted upon Shushan.
II seems as If q billow Of celestial glory had
dashed clear over heavens battlements upon
this metropolis of Persia.
In connection with this palace there is a
| garden whore the mighty men OF foreign
lands are seated ut "A banquet. Undet the
spread of oak and linden and acacia the
| tables are arranged. The breath of honey
suokle and fronEdneehse fills the air. Foun-
tains leap up into the light, the spray struck
through with rainbows falling in crystalline
baptism upon flowery shrubs, then rolling
down through channels of marble and
| widening ont here and there into pools
swirling with the llnny tribes of foreign
aquariums bordered with scarles annem-
| ONES. hypercums and many col0ted
ranuncuus Meats OF rarest bird and beast
| smoking up amid wreathes Of afomatics.
Tho vases filed with apficots and 9imopds.
The baskets piled up with apricots and
dates and llgs and orang4s and pomegran-
ates. Melons tastefuliTtwined with leaves OF
Acacia a., EGs 16ffi,gnt waters of Euleus filling
INC m s and sweating outside the rim in
I nasfing beads amid the traceries. Wine
from the royal watts OF Ispahan and ShitaS,
in bottles of tinRed she'll and lily shaped
cups of silver and nagons and tankards OF
solid gold. The music rises higher and the
| reyelry breaks out into wilder transport
and tho wine has flushed the cheek and
touched the brain. and louder than Ill
other voices are The hiccough of the Inc
briates, the gabble of fools and the song Of
tho drunkards.
In another part OF tho pnlaee Queer
| Vashti is entertaining the princesses of Persia
at banquet. Drunken Ahasuerus says tc
his servants, "You 90 out and fetch WASN'T
from that banquet with the women, anr
bring her to this banquet with the men, and
let me display her beauty" The servants
Immediately start to obey the kings com
mand. but there was u rule in oriental SO
cicty that no woman might appear in public
without having her face yelled. Yet here
was mandate, and no one dare dispute de
handing that Vashti come in unveiled be
fore the multitude However there was il
Vasht's soul Il principle more regal than
Ahasuerus, more brilliant than the gold o
Shushan, Of more wealth than tho realm o
Persia, which commanded her to disOhe'
this order of the king, and 50 all the right
eousness and holiness and modesty of he
nature rises up into one sublime refusal
She says. 81 will not so INTO the banquet un
yelled" OF course Ahasuerus was infuriate
and Vashti, robbed of her position and he
estate, is driven forth in poverty and ruin L
suffer the scorn of Il nation and yet to re
ceive the applause of after generations VIII,
shall rise up to admire this martyr to kingl
insolence. Well, the last vestige of thai
feast is gone; tho last garland has faded
tlle last arch has fallen; the last tankard ha
been destroyed, and Shushan is a ruin. BIZ
as long as the world stands there will b
multtudes OF men and women, famila
with the Bible, who will come into this pic
ture gallery of God and admire the divin
portrait of Vashti the queen, Vashti tn
yelled, Vashd the sacrifice, Vashti tn
silent.
In the first place, 1 want you to look upol
l.
white, drawn around her forehead, indi
Gated her queenly position. 1t was no SINAI
honor TO be que II in such realm as thai
Hark to the rustic of her robesl See tn
blaze of her jewels! And yet, my friends,
is not necessary to have palace and rega
robe IN order to be queenly When | see
woman with strong faith in God putting he
foot upon all meanness and sefishness anC
goddess display, going right forward to serv
Christ and the race by a grand and Soriou
service, | say, "Ihat woman is a queen,
and the ranks of heaven look over the bat
Elements upon the coronation, and whethe
she come up from the shanty on the com
mons or the mansion of the Fashionable
square, greet her with the Shout "All hail
Queen Vashti." What glory was there OF
the brow of Mary of Scotland, or EliHabetl
OF England, or Margaret of France or Cath
crime of Russia, compared with the worCh y
them gone into glory-or of that woman
mentioned in the Scriptures, who put al
her money into the Lords treasury-or 0
Jephthahs daughter, who made u dem
onstration of unselhsh PATRIOTISM
of Abigail, who rescued the herds and flock
OF her hushand-or of Ruth. who toiled un
der tropical sun for poor old, helpless
Naomi-or of Florence Nightingale, who
went at midnight to stanch the battle Woun |.
of the Crimea-or of Mrs. Adoniram Judsol
who kindled the lights of salvation amid tt,
darkness of Burmah--or of Mrs Hemans
who poured out her holy soul in words which
will forever be associated with hunter horn
and captive's chain and bridal hour ant
lutes throb and curfew's knell at the dyinl
day-;lnd scores and hundreds of women
unknown on earth who have given water t.
the thirsty and bread to the hungry anC
medicine to the sick and smiles to the dis
co1raged-their footsteps heard along darl
lane and in government hospital and il
almshouse corridor and by prison gate
There may be no royal robe-there may b,
no palatial surroundings. She does not need
| them, for all charitable men will unite with
| the cracking lips of fever struck hospita
and plague blotched lazaretto in greeting
her as she passes: "Hail! HALL Queen
Vashti."
Again, | want you to consider Vashti the
velled. Had she appeared before Ahasuerus
and his court on that day with her face un-
covered she would have shocked all the deli
I, cacies of oriental society, and the very men
who in their intoXication demanded that she