Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-12-18
A QUEEN IN DISGUISE.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE TEARS OFF THE
MASK OF DECEIT.


tian servIce-The Unerring Care of God.
Warmed by the Fire of Consuming
World.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19.-In this ser
mon from Bible scene never used in
sermonio discourse DR.. Talmage draws
some startling lessons and tears off the
mask Of deceit. The text is Kings xiv,
8, "Why feignest thou tbyself to be an
other?"
In the palace of wicked Jeroboam
there is a sick child, very sick child.
Medicines have failed; skill is exhaust
ed. Young Abijah, the prince, has lived
long enough to become very popular,
and vet he must die unless some super
natural aid be afforded. Death comes
up the broad stairs of the palace and
swings back the door Of the sickroom OF
royalty and stands looking at the dying
prince with the dart uplifted. Wicked
Jeroboam knows that he has no right to
ask anything Of the Lord in the way OF
kindness. He knows that his prayers
would not bo answered, and so he sends
his wife on the delicate and tender mis-
sion 10 the prophet Of the Lord IN Shi-
loh. Putting aside her royal attire, she
puts on the garb Of a peasant woman
and starts on the road. Instead Of car
rying gold and gems, as she might have
carried from the palace, she carries only
those gifts which seem TO indicate that
she belongs to the peasantry-a few
loaves of bread and a few cracknels and
a cruise Of honey. Yonder she goes, hood
ed and yelled, the greatest lady IN all
the kingdom. yet passing unobseryed.
No one that meets her on the highway
has any idea that she Is the first lady IN
all the land. She is a queen in disguise.
The fact is that Peter the Great work
ing in the drydocks Of Saardam, the sail
or's hat and the shipwright's AK gave
him no more thorough disguise than the
garb of the peasant woman gave TO the
queen Of Tirza But the prophet OF the
Lord saw the deceit Although his phys
ical eyesight had failed, he was divine
" illumined, and at one glance looked
through the imposition and he cried cut
Come in. thou wife Of Jeroboaml Why
feignest thou thyself TO be another: l
have evil tidings for thee Get thee
back to thy house, and when thy feet
touch the gate Of the city the child
shall die" She had right to ask for
the recovery Of her son. She had NO
right to practice al imposition. Broken
hearted now, she started ON the Wly'
the tears falling on the dust Of the road
all the way from Shiloh to Iirzah.
Broken hearted now, she Is not careful
any moro TO hide Ler queenly gait and
manner. True TO the prophecy, the mo-
ment her feet touch the gate Of the city
the child dies. As she goes in the SOU
of the child goes out The cry III tho
palace is joined by the lamentation OF
a nation, and as they carry good AbiJah
TO his grave the air is filled with the
voice Of eulogy for the departed youth
and the groan Of an afflicted kingdom.
| Deceit anu l)uphNit9'
It is for no Insignificant purpose tha'
I present you the thrilling story Of The
text. In the first place learn that wick
edness involves others, trying to mak'
them its dupes, its allies and It's scape
goats. Jeroboam proposed to hoodwini
the Lords prophet. How did he do 1t
Did he go aud do the work himself! NO
He sent his wife to do it. Hers the peri
of exposure, hers the fatigue Of the way
hers the execution Of the plot; his
nothing. Iniquity is a brag, but 1t IS
great coward. 1t lays the plan and get
some one else to execute it; puts dowi
the Runpowder train and gets some on
else TO touch it off; contrives mlschle
and gets some one else to work it; starts
lie and gets some one else to circulate 1t
In nearly all the great crimes OF IN
world it is found out that those VIII
MANNED the arson, the murder, tn
theft. the fraud 90 free, while those VIII
were decoyed and cheated and hood
winked into the conspiracy clank tn
chain and mount the gallows.
Aaron Burr, with heart filled witt
impurity and ambition, plots for tn
overthrow of the United States govern
ment and gets off with a few threat
and a little censure, while Blennerhas
sett the learned Blennerhassett tn
sweet tempered Blennerhassett, Is de
coyed by him from the orchards, AM
the laboratories, and the gardens an
the home on the bank Of the Ohio river
and his fortunes are scattered, and he
thrown into prison, and his family
brought up in luxury, is turned out !.
die. Abominable Aaron Burr has
comparatively easy. Sweet tempere
Blennerhassett has it hard. Benedic
. Arnold proposed to sell out the forts G
the United States, to surrender the kew
olutionary army and to destroy IN
/, United States government. he gets o.
with his pockets full of pounds sterling
while Major Andre, the brave and tn
{ brilliant is decoyed into the conspirac
and suffers on the gibbet on the bank
Of the Hudson, so that even the llter'
ture. the marble tablature, that CON
, memorated that event has been blaste
n By midnight desperadoes. Benedict Al
mold has it easy. Major Andre has
e hard. / have noticed that nine-tenths
/ those who suffer for crimes are merei
. the satellites of some great villains. Il
nominious fraud is juggler which, b
= sleight Of hand and legerdemain, MAKE
e the gold that it stole appear III som'
body else's pocket. Jeroboam plots Il
lie contrives the imposition and gel
bis wife to execute it. Stand of trol
p. all imposition and ohioanery. Do NJ
consent TO be anybody's dupe, anybody
ally in wickedness, anybody's soap
goat.
Behind = Mask.
y The story Of the text also Impress
o me with the fact that royalty sometime
d passes in disguise. The frook, the vel
the hood of the peasant woman hid Il
quesnly character Of this woman OF IL
U zah. Nobody suspected that she was
le queen or o princess as she passed D.
O but she was just as much a queen
=. kko,oh sba stood in the palace, h