The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-07-06
ABRAVE QUEEN OF The BIBLE.
TALNAGE TELLS THE STORY OF
VASHTTS BANIsHMENT.

Summoned TO Appear Unveiled BE-
fore the King at = banquet, She
Refuses and Il Driven From the
Palace in Punishment Of Her Dis
ObedIence-The Lessons Drawn
From the story.
Washington. D. C.. July SIN his ser
mon to-day. starting from a brilliant BE-
bic scene. DR.. Talmage discourses upon
woman's opportunities and the WRONGS
she sometimes suffers. His text was E7-
Their I: II. =: TO bring Nashu the queen
before the king with the crown royal 90
show the people and the princes her
beauty: for she was far 10 look on. But
the queen vashu refused 10 come az -he
kings commandment by his cham oer-
lalns; therefore was the king very wroth
and his anger burned Oh him"
We stand amid the palaces OF Shushan.
The pinnacles are a1iame with the morn
ing light. The columns rise festooned
and wreathed. the wealth OF empires Hash
ing from the grooves. the ceilings adorn-
ed with images Of bird and beast, and
scenes Of prowess and conquest The walls
are hung with Shields and emblazoned
until Il seems that the whole round OF
spIendors Is exhausted. Each arch IS
mighty leap OF architectural achieve
ment. Golden stars. shining down on
glowing arabesque Hangings Of emToid-
cred work in which mingle the blueness
of the sky. the greenness Of the grass.
and the Wilderness OF the sea-foam. Tapes
tries hung on silver rings. wedding to-
gether the pillars Of marble. Pavilions
reaching out in every direction. THESE
for repose, filled with luxuriant coucnes,
into which weary limbs sink until all IA
tigue Is submerged. These for carousal,
where kings drink down a kingdom at
one swallow. Amazing spectacle! Light
Of silver dripping down over stairs OF
ivory on shields OF gold. Floors Of stain
ed marble, sunset red and night black,
and inlaid with cleaning pearl Why, it
seems as II a heavenly vision Of amethyst
and jacinth and topaz and chrysoprasus
had descended and alighted upon Shus-
han. II seems as If a billow Of celestial
glory had dashed clear over heavens bat
Elements upon this metropolis Of Persia. In
connection with this palace there is gar
den, where the mighty men OF foreign
lands are seated at a banquet Under the
spread of oak and linden and acacia, the
tables are arranged. The breath OF honey
suckle and frankiucense fills the air.
Fountains leap up into the light, the
spray struck through with rainbows rail-
ing In crystalline baptism upon mower
ing shrubs-then rolling down through
channels OF marble and widening out here
and there into pools sWirAng with the
finny tribes Of foreign aquariums, bor-
dered with scarlet anemones, hyperlcums,
and many-colOred ranuncuus. Meats or
Tarest bird and beast smoking up amid
wreaths of aromatics. The vases filled
with apricots and almonds. The baskets
piled up with apricots and dates and
figs and oranges and POM granates, Mel
ons tastefully twined with leaves of
acacia. The bright waters of Eulaeus
1illing the urns and sweating outside the
rim In flashing beads amid the traceries.
Wine from the royal watts OF lspahan
and Shiraz, in bottles of tinged shell,
and lily-shaped cups Of silver, and hagons
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 inebriates, the gabble OF
fools and the song OF the drunkards.
In another part of the palace, Queen
Vashu Is entertaining the princesses Of
Persia at a banquet. Drunken
ants; You, go out and fetch
Vashu from that banquet with the wO-
men, and bring her to this banquet with
the men. and let me display her beauty"
The servants Immediately start to obey
the kings command; but there was rule
in Oriental society that no woman might
appear IN public without having her face
yelled. Yet here was a mandate that no
one dare dispute, demanding that Nasht
come in unveiled before the multitude.
However, there was In Nashtfs soul a
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 righteousness and
holiness and mnNegtV of her nature rises
up into one sublime refusal. She says:
Il will not go into the banquet unveiled "
OF course Ahasuerus was infuriate; and
Xashti, robbed of her position and her es-
tate, is driven forth in poverty and ruin
TO suffer the scorn Of nation, and yet
to receive the applause of after genera
tions who shall rise up to admire this
martyr TO kingly 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 destroy
ed; 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 picture gallery of
God and admire the divine portrait of
VashTi the queen, Vashu the yelled,
Vashti the sacrifice, Vashu the silent.
In the first place, ] want you to look
upon Vashti the queen. A blue ribbon
rayed with white, drawn around her fore
head, Indicated her queenly position. 1t
was no small honor to be queen in such
her robes! See the blaze OF her Jewels
And yet, my friends, It is not necessary
to have palace and regal robe In order
10 be queenly. When l see woman with
strong faith IN God, putting her foot
upon all meanness and selishness and
goddess display, going right forward t.
serve Christ and the race by a grand
and glorious service, 1 say: That woman
is a queen" and the'ranks of heaven look
over the battlements upon the coronation
and whether she come up from the shanty
on the commons or the mansion of the
fashionable square l greet her with a
shout: All hail! Queen Vasht." What
glory was there on the brow of Mary OF
Scotland, or Elizabeth of England. OF
Margaret of France, or Catherine of Rus
STA, compared with the worth of some
of our Christian mothers, many of them
gone into glory ?-or of that woman men,
5ioned in the scriptures, who put all heI
money into the Lords treasury ?-or OF
Jephthahs daughter, who made a demon
stration of unselfsh patriotism or OF
Abigail, who rescued the herds and fiocks
of her husband7-or OF Ruth, who toiled
under a tropical sun for poor, old, help
less Naomi?-or of Florence Nightengale
who went at midnight TO stanch the battle
wounds of the Crimea or of Mrs AdOn-
tram Judson, VINO kindled the lights
of salvation amid the darkness OF Burmah
or of Mrs. Hemans, who poured out her
hOiy soul in words which will forever be