The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-07-22
REV. DIR. TALMAGE4
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "Woman and Her Sacri-
flces''

TEXT: 'sTo bring Tashti the queen before
the king with the crown royal to show tn,
people and the princes her beauty, fo
she was fair to look on. But the queer
mandments by his chamberlains; therefore
was the king very wroth, and his anger
burned him. Esther j., II, II.
We stand amid the palaces of Shusham
The pinnacles are ahame with the mornino
light. The columns rise festooned anf
wreathed. the wealth of empires fashine
from the grooves, the ceilings adorned with
images of bird and beast and scenes o
powers and conquest. The walls are hung
with shields and emblazoned until 1t seems
that the whole round Of splendors Is ex'
hauSted. Each arch Is mighty leap ol
architectural achievement. Colleen stars
shining down on glowing arabesque. Hang
inCs Of embroidered work in which mtngle
the blueness of the sky, the greenness OF the
grass and the whiteDess OF the sea foam.
Tapestries hung on silver rings, wedding to-
gether the pillars of marble. Pavilions
reaching out in every direction. These for
repose, filled with luxuriant couches, into
which weary limbs sink until all fatigue Is
submerged. These for carousal, where
kings drink down 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, 1t seems as II heavenly vision OF ame-
thyst and jacinth and'topaz and chrysoprasus
had descended and alighted upon Shushan.
1t seems as If a billow Of celestial glory had
dashed clear over heavens battlements upon
this metropolis OF Persia
In connection with this palace there Is
garden where the mighty men OF foreign
lands are seated ut banquet. Under the
spread of oak and linden and acacia the
tablesare arranged. The breath Of honey
suckle and frankincense fills the air. Foun-
tains leap up into the light, the spray struck
through with rainbowS falling in crystalline
baptism upon fowery shrubs, then rolling
down through channels Of marble and
widening out here and there into pools
swirling with the anny tribes OF foreign
aquariums,' bordered with scarlet annem-
ONES. hypercums and many colored
ranunculus. Meats of rarest bird and beast
smoking up amid wreathes Of aromatics
The vases filled with apricots and almonds.
The baskets piled up with apricots and
dates and figs and oranges and pomeSran.
ates. Melons tastefully twined with leaves Of
acacia The bright waters Of Eulaus filling
the urns and sweating outside the rim In
flashing beads amid the trsceries. Wine
from the royal vats Of Ispshan and Shiraz:
cups Of silver and fagons and tankards OF
solid gold. The music rises higher. and the
revelry breaks out into wilder transport,
and the wine has flushed the cheek and
touched the brain, and louder than all
other voices are the hiccough OF the inc
briates. the gabble Of fools and the song OF
the drunkards.
In another part of the palace Queen
Vashti is entertaining the prncesses OF Persia
at banquet. Drunken Ahasuerus says to
his servants, "You 60 out and fetch Vashti
from that banquet with the women, and
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 rule in oriental So
ciety that no woman might appear in public
without having her face yelled. Yet here
was mandate and no one dare dispute, de-
manding that Vashti come in unveiled be-
fore the multitude. However, there was in
Vashti's soul principle more regal than
Ahasuerus. more brilliant than the gold OF
Shushao, Of more wealth than the realm Of
Persia, which commanded her to disobey
this order of the king, and so all the right
eousness and holiness and modesty OF her
oature rises up into one sublime refusal.
She says, ~ will not go into the banquet un-
veiled." OF course Ahasuerus was infuriate,
and Vashti, robbed of her position and her
estate, is driven forth In poverty and ruin to
suffer the scorn of nation and yet to re-
ceive the applause Of after generations who
shall rise up to admire this martyr to kinSly
Insolence. Well, the last vestige OF that
feast Is gone; the last garland has faded:
the last arch has fallen; the last tankard has
been destroyed, and Shushan Is ruin. But
ho cto will he
multitudes Of men and women, familiar
with the Bible, who will come into this pic
ture gallery Of God and admire the divine
portrait OF Vashti the queen, Vashti the
yelled, Vashti the sacrifice, Vashti the
silent.
In the first place, want you to look upon
Vashti the queen. A blue ribbon. rayed with
white. drawn around her forehead, indi-
Gated her queenly position. It was no small
honor to be que in such realm as that.
Hark to the rustic Of her robes! See the
blaze Of her jewels! And ye., my friends, 1t
is not necessary to have palace and regal
robe IN order to be queenly. When I see a
woman with strong faith in God putting her
loot upon all meanness and selfishnesS and
goddess display, going right forward to serve
Christ and the race BY grand and glorious
service, I say, "That woman Is a queen" "
and the ranks OF heaven look over the bat
Elements upon the coronation, and whether
she come up from the shanty on the CON-
mons or the mansion Of the fashionable
square, I greet her with the shout: t:"All hail!
Queen Vasht." What glory was there on
the brow Of Mary Of Scotland. or Elizabeth
of England, or Margaret Of France or Cath
crime OF Russia, compared with the worth ot
some OF our Christian mothers, many ot
them gone into glory-or OF that woman
mentioned in the Scriptures, who put all
ber money into the Lords treasury-or Of
Jephthah's daughter, who made a dem
onstration Of unselfsh patriotism-o,
of Abigail, who rescued the herds and docks
of her husbanG-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 wound:
of the Crimea-or Of Mrs. Adoniram Judson
who kindled the lights Of salvation amid the
darkness Of Burmah-or Of Mrs. Hemans
who poured out her holy soul in words which
WILL forever be associated with hunters horr
and captive's chain and bridal hour anC
lute's throb and curfew's knell at the dyinl
day-and scores and hundreds Of women
unknown on earth who have given water tc
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 palatia surroundings. She does not neec
them, for all charitable men will unite witt
j the cracking lips Of fever struck hospita
1 and plague blotched lazaretto in greeting
her as she passes: "Hail! Hail! Queer
Vash,i."
Again, want you to consider Vashti thu
velled. Had she appeared before Ahasueru.
and his court on that day with her face un
covered she would have shocked all the deli
cacies of oriental society, and the very men
who in their intoxication demanded that sh
come in their sober moments would have de