The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-07-31
REV. DIR. TALMAGE,.
THE NOTED DIvINE's SUNDAY
DISCOURSE
Subject. woman ana Her saori.
ncea.p

mandments by his chamhorlains, therefore
was the King very wroth aud BIS anger
burned him. Esther l., H. ~.
We stand amid tho palaces OF shusham.
The pinnacles are adame 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 omblaz0nod until Il seems
that the whole round Of splend0u Is exc
hausted Each arch Is a mighty leap Of
architectural achievement Golden stars
shining down on glowing arabesquo. Hang
ings % embroidered work Ia which mlngle
the bluencss OF the sky, the greenness Of the
grass and the whiieness of the sea foam.
Tapestries hung on silver rings, wedding to-
gether the pillars Of marble. pavilions
reaching out I'm every direction. These for
rop0se, filled with luxuriant c0uches, into
which weary Limbs sink until all fatigue Is
submerged. These for car0usal, whore
kings drink down kingdom at ore swallow.
Amazing spectaclel Light OF silver dripping
down over stairs Of ivory on shields of gold.
Floors Of stained marble, sunset red aud
night black and lnlaid with cleaning pearl.
Why, II seems asif q heavenly vision Of ame-
thyst and iaeinth aniitopaz aud chrysoprnsus
bad descended and nlighted upon Shushan.
Il seems gs if bill0w Of celestial glory had
dashed clear over heavens battlements upon
this metropolis Of Persia.
In connection with this palace there Is a
garden where the mighty men OF foreign
lands are seated at a banquet. Under the
spread Of oak and linden aud acacia the
tables are arranged. Tho breath OF honey
suckle and franEncense flls the afr. Foun-
talns 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
swiring With the 1nny tribes Of foreign
aquariums, bordered with scarlet annem-
ONES, hypericums and many colored
ranuneuus. Meats OF rarest bird and beast
smoking up amid wreathes Of aromatics.
The vases filled with apricots and almonds.
The baskets piled up with aprlcots and
dates and lgs and oranges aud pomegran-
ates. Melons tastefullY twined with leaves Of
acacia. The bright waters OF Euosus filling
| the urns and sweating outside the rim in
flashing beads amid the traceres. Wine
| from the royal watts Of Ispahan and Shiraz.
! in bottles Of tinged shell, and lily shaped
cups Of silver and fagons AMI 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 thorough OF the inc
briates, the gable Of fools ard the song Of
the druukards.
In another part of the palace Queen
| Yashti IS entertaining the princesscs Of Persia
/ at banquet Drunken Ahasuerus says TO
/ his servants, "You 90 out and fetch Yashtl
! from that BANQUET with the women, and
| bring her to this banquet with the men, and
! let NE display her beauty" The servants
| Immediately start TO obey the kings COM
mand. but there was q 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-
/ handing that Vashu come in unveiled be-
fore the multitude. However, there was in
Vashtfs soul principle more regal than
! Ahasuerus, more brilliant than the gold of
| Shushan, 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
nature rises up into one sublime refusal.
She says, 81 viii not 90 into the banquet un-
yelled" OF course Ahasuerus was infuriate,
| and Faslti 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 kingly
insolence Well, the last vestige of that
|
the last arch has fallen; the last tankard has
been destroyed, and Shushan is a ruin. But
as long as the world stands there will be
multitudes of men and women, familiar
with the Bible, who will come into this pie
ture gallery of God and admire the divine
portrait OF Vashti the queen. Vashd the
yelled, Vashti the sacrifice, Vashd the
silent.
In the first place, want you to look upon
| ha A hIt1o al, M
white, drawn around her forehead, indi-
Gated her queenly position. It was no small
honor to be queen In such a realm as that
Hark to the rustic of her robes! See the
blaze of her jewels And yet, my friends, II
is not necessary to have palace and rega
robe IN order to be queenly. When l see {
woman with strong faith in God putting hel
foot upon all meanness and selhshness and
goddess display, going right forward to serve
Christ and the race by grand and gloriou!
service, | say, "That 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 Yashti." What glory was there OF
the brow OF Mary of Scotland. or Elizabeth
Of England, or Margaret of France or Cath
crime OF Russia, compared with the worth o
bOm5 Oh our christian mothers, many o
them gone into glory-or of that woman
mentioned in the Scriptures, who put al
her money into the Lords treasury--or o
Jephthah's daughter, who made dem
onstration OF unselhsh patrotlsm-o
Of Abigail, who rescued the herds and flock
Of her husbanG-vor of Ruth. who toiled un
der tropical sun for poor OLD, helpless
Naomi-or Of Florence nightingale, whC
went at midnight to stanch the battle wound
of the OrimeG-or OF Mrs. Adoniram Judson
who kindled the lights of aviation amid TIL
darkness Of Burmah--or Of Mrs. Hemans
who poured out herholysoul IN words whicl
will forever be associated with hunters horl
and captive's chain and bridal hour an
lute's throb and curfew's knell at the dyin
day-and scores and hundreds of women
unknown on earth who have given water 1
the thirsty and bread to the hungry an
medicine to the sick and smiles to the dis
coaraged-their footsteps heard along Oar
lane and in government hospital and j
almshouse corridor and by prison gate
There may be no royal robe-there may
no palatial surroundings. She does not nee
them, for all charitable men viii unite ,Tiitt
the cracking lips Of fever struck hosptl