The Grenada sentinel., 1896-07-11
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Lesson Drawn From the Hum,.
hation Of Queen Vashti
Assent'on Directed to Some Tyne, Of tn.
"sw Woman-Likened Unto tn.
0'Dilcal Queen Had She
"Lost Her veiI."

x"o0a hau She
"Lost Her veii."
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage delivered tn,
1oilo"ing sermon upon "Woman's On
portunities" before his Washington
congregation. taking for his text:
10 bring Vashti the queen be,ore III,
king with the crown roval. tn shew ts'
people ana the princes her beauty; for she wn
!alr 70 look on. But the queen Vashti refuse,
vcome ~ the kings commandment by hi,
cn1moeriains; therefore was the king yer,
l.. ll-12. "o" ~ "'ln'-Estnel
we stand amid the palaces of Shu
shan. The pinacles are aflame with
the morning light. The columns rIsa
1estooned and wreathed, the wealth Of
empires flashing from the groves
sne ceilings adorned with images OF
olrd and beast, and scenes of prowess
ana conquest The walls are hung
with shields. and emblazoned until Il
seems that the whole round of splen.
dors Is exhausted. Each arch is q
mighty leap of architectural achieve.
ment. Golden stars, shining down on
glowing arbesque. Hangings of EN-.
oroidered work in which minple the
blueness of the sky, the greenness of
the grass and the whiteness of the sea.
foam. Tapestries hung on silver rings,
wedding together the pillars of mar.
Die Pavilions reaching out in everv
direction. These for repose filled
with lnxuriaut 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, it seems as if heav.
enly vision of amethyst and iacinth
and topaz and chrysoprasus had de.
scended and alighted upon shushan.
1t seems as if a bllow of celestial
glory had dashed clear over Heavens
battlements upon this METROPOLIS of
Persia. In connection with this pal
ace there is garden, where the
mighty men of foreign lands are
seated at banquet. Under the spread
of oak and linden and acacia. the ia.
bles are arranged The breath of
honeysucllle and frankincense fills the
air Fountains leap up into the light,
the spray struck through with rain
oows falling in crystalline baptism
upon towering shrubs-then rolling
down through channels of marble.
and widening out here and there into
pools swirling with the finny tribes
OF foreign aquarums, bordered with
scarlet anem ones, hypericums and
many'colored ranunculus Meats of
rarest bird and beast smoking up
amid wreaths of aromatics. The
vases filled with apricots and almonds.
The baskets piled up with aprcots and
dates, and figs, and oranges, and pome-
granates. Melons tastefully twined
with leaves of acacia. The bright wa.
ters OF Eulaeus filling the urns and
sweating outside the rim in flashing
beads amid the traceries. Wine from
the royal vats Of Ispahan and Shiraz,
In bottles of tinged shell, and lily
shaped 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 inebri.
ates, the gable of fools, and the song
If the drunkards.
In another part OF the palace, Queen
Vashti is entertaining the princesses of
Persia at a banquet Drunken Ahas-
lerus says to his servants: You 20
tut and fetch Vashti from that ban
luet with the women, and bring her
% this banquet with the men, and let
ne display her beauty" The servants
Immediately start to obey the kings
ommand; but there was rule in
'riental society that no woman might
ppear in public without having her
ace veiled. Yet here was a mandate
hat no one dare dispute, demanding
hat Nashti come in unveiled before
he multitude. However, there was
n Vashti's soul a principle more regal
han Ahasuerus, more brilliant than
he gold of Shushan, of more wealth ,
han the realm Of Persia, which COM
landed her to disobey this order of the
ing; and so all the righteousness and {
oliness and modesty of her nature {
ises up into one sublime refusal. She
ays: II will not 60 into the banquet &
nveiled.' OF course. Ahasuerus was !
lfuriate; and Vashti, robbed of her
osition and her estate, is driven forth
, poverty and ruin to suffer the scorn c
a nation, and yet to receive the ap- S
lause of after generations who shall s
Sc up to admire this martyr to king. h
: insolence. Well, the last vestige of v
lat feast is gone; the last garland has i.
'dcd; the last arch has fallen; the last c
'nkard has been destroyed; and shu- "
IAN is ruin; but as long as the world q
ands there will be multitudes Of men s.
i'd women, familiar with the Bible, q
no will come into this picture gall A
ry OF God, and admire the divine tt
'rtrait OF Vashti the queen, Vashti "
e veiled, Vashti the sacrifice, Vashti m
. silent. d.
In the first place, l want You to d.
ok upon Vashti, the queen. A blue al