Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1896-07-09
BRILLIANT BIBLE SCENE.
Queen vashii Held Up as a Model for
All Women.
''The Sacrifice. the silent, the Yelled" Who
scorned n Monarch and Lost Power
full Throne Rather Than Display
Herself to the Kings Dis
soIute Friends.


ties, aud the wrongs She sometimes
suffers. Ills text WAS Esther l., n, IL:
ITO bring NaShti. the queen. before
the king with the crown royal To show
the people and the princes her beauty;
for She was fair Ia hook upon. Hut the
queen, Nashti, refused Ia come at the
kings commandment Nv his chamber.
lainS: therefore the king WAS very
wroth and his anger burned In him.
We stand amid the palaces of Shu-
shan. The pinnaclrs are aflamr with
the morning light The columns rise
festooncd and wrrathrd. the wealth IT
empires flashing from the grooves: the
ceilings adorned with images of bird
and beast. and scenes of prnvrs> and
conquest. The walls are hung with
shields and cmbla7oncd until il
seems that the whole round of
splcndor is exhausted. Each arch
Is a mighty leap Of architectural
achievement. Golden stars. shining
down On glowing arabcsquc Hang
ingS of cmhroid, rcd work in which
minglc the bluencsS> of the sky, the
grecuncSS of the Grass. and the white
ness of the scaf"am. Tapestries hung
On silver rings welding togcth y the
pillars Of marble Pavilinn~ reaching
ont in every direction. These for re-.
pose, filed with luNuriant cnuche>. into
which weary limbs sink until all
fatigue il submerged These for
carousal, whcrc king, drink down
a kingdom al one swallow. AmaA-
ing spectacle. Light ot silver drip
ping down over stars of ivory ON
shields of gold. Floors of stained mar
BILE, sunset red and night back, aud I'm.
laid with cleaning pearl Why, il
seems as il a heavenly vision 81 anne.
thyst and iacinth and topaz and chryso.
prasuS had descended and alightrd
upon Shushan. II seems rs ii hillow
of celestial glory had dashed clear over
Heavens battlcmcntS upon this
metropolis of Persia. In connection
with this palace there is garden
where the mighty men of foreign
lands are seated at a banquet In.
der the spread of oak and linden and
acacia, the tables are arranged. The
breath OF honeysucllle and franklin
cense fills the air. Fountains leap up
into the light. the spray struck through
with crystalline baptism upon flower.
ing shruhs-thcn rolling down through
channels of marble. and widening out
here and there into pools swiriing with
the finny tribes of foreign aqua
RUINS. bordcred with scarlet ane.
mones, hypericums, and many cnlored
anunculus. Meats Of rare>i mr,is and
beast smoking up amid wreathS of
aromaticS. The vases filed with april
cots and almonds. fhc baskets piled
mp with apricots and dates and figs and
oranges and pnmegranatcS. Melons
tastefully twined with leaves of acacia
The bright waters nf Eulacus filing
the urns and sweating out side the rim
in flashing beds ami 4 the traccrieS. " inc
from the royal watts uf lsplhan and
Shiraz, in bottles of tinged shell, and
lily-shaped cups of silver. and flagons
and tankartls of solid gold. The music
rises higher and the revelry breaks out
into wider transport, and the wine has
flushed the cheek and touched the
brain, and louder than all other voices
are the hiccough of the incbriates, the
gable of fools, and the song of the
drunkards.
In another part o: the palace Queen
Nashti is entertaining the princcsses of
Persia at banquet, Drunken Alias
uerus 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 dis
play her beauty" The servants i'm
mediately start 10 obey the kings com
mand: but there was n rule in Oriental
society that no woman might arp ar
in public without having her face
veiled. Yet here was mandate that no
ne dare dispute. demanding that
.'ashti come in unveiled b'f1re the
multitude. However. thcra WAS in
Nashti's soul principle more legal
than AhHsuerus, more brilliant than
the gold of Shushan: Of more wealth
than the realm of Persia. which com
mandc her t. disobev this order Of the
king; AMI ~ all the Righteousness and
holiness and modesty q: her nature rises
up in one sublime refusal. She says: Il
will not go into IN banquet unveiled. =
OF course. AhaSurcrus was infuriate:
and Na>hti. robbed of her position and
her estate. i driven forth in poverty
and ruin TO suffer the >corn of nation,
and yet To receive the applause of aft
er generations who shall rise mp To
admir- this martyr TO kingly insolence.
Well, the last vcstige of that feast
is gore; the last garland has faded;
the last arch has fallen; the last tank
ard has been destroyed, and Shushan is
a ruin: hut rs long as the word stands
there will be multitudes of men and
women, familiar with the Billie, who
will come into this picture gallery of
God and admire the divine portrait of
Nashti the queen, Nashti the veiied,
Nashti the sacrifice, Vashti the silent.
In the first place want you to look
upon Nashti the queen. 4 blue ribbon,
rayed with white, drawn around her
forehead, indicated her queenly posi-
ton. IL was no small honor to be
queen in such a realm a. that Hank
To the rustic of her robes! See the
blaze of her jewels! And yet. my
friends, it is not necessary to have
palace and regal robes i'm or !er to he
queenly. When | see woman with
strong faith in God. putting her
foot upon all meanness and sell
fishness and goddess display, going
right forward TO serve Christ and the
race by a grand and glorious service, |
say: That woman is a queen and the
ranks of Heaven look over the battle
ments upon the coronation, and wheth-
er she come up from the shanty on the
commons or III, mansion of the fash
iouabl. square, | greet her with the
shout: ''All hail! Queen Vashti
What glory was there on the brow of
Mary of Scotland, or Elizabeth of Eng
land, or Margaret of France. or
Catherine of Russia, compared with the
worth of some % our Christian mothers,
many of them gone into glory?-or of
that woman mentioned in the Scrip
lures, who put all her money into the
Lords treasury?-or of Jephthahs
daughter, who made a demonstration
of unselfish patriotism?-or of Abigail,
who rescued the herds and fioclxs of her
husband?-or of Ruth, who toiled un-
der a tropical sun for poor, old. helpless
Naomi?-or of Florence Nightingale,
who went at midnight to stanch the
battle wounds of the Crimea?-or OF
Mrs Adpniram Judson, who kindled
the lights of salvation amid the dark
ness of Burmah?-or .of Mrs. Hemans.