The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-02-26
sISTERLY INFLUENCE.
Row DR.. Talmage Disoourses on
Brother and, Sister.
The Influence of the Former on the Life of
the Latter-Men Who Owe Their
Success to the Care of an
Elder Sister.

| Princess Thermutis, daughter of
Pharaoh, looking out through the lat
tice of her bathing house, on the banks
of the Nile, sawa curious boat on the
river 1t had neither oar nor helm,
and they would have been useless any
how. There was only one passenger,
and that a baby boy. But the May
flower, that brought the Pilgrim Fa-
theirs to America, carried not so precious
a load The boat was made of the
broad leaves of papyrus, frightened to-
gether by bitumen. Boats were some
times made of that material, as we
learn from Pliny and Herodotus and
Theophrastus. kill all the Hebrew
children born" had been Pharaoh's or
der. To save her boy, Jochebed, the
mother of little Moses, had put him in
that queer boat and launched him.
His sister, Miriam, stood on the bank
watching that precious craft. She was
far enough off not to draw attention to
the boat, but near enough to offer pro-
lection. There she stands on the bank
Miriam the poetess, Miriam the
quick witted, Miriam the faithful,
though very human, for in after time
she demonstrated it.
Miriam was splendid sister, but had
her faults, like all the rest of us. How
carefully she watched the boat con-
tanning her brother! A strong wind
might upset it. The buffaloes often
found there might in sudden plunge
of thirst sink in it. Some ravenous
waterfowl might swoop and pick his
ewes out with iron beak. Some croco-
ollie or hippopotamus crawling through
the rushes might crush the babe. Mi
Ram watched and watched until the
Princess Thermutis, maiden on each
side of her holding palm leaves over
her head to shelter her from the. sun,
came down and entered her bathing
house. When from the lattice she saw
| that boat she ordered it brought, and
when the leaves were pulled back
from the face of the child and the boy
looked up he cried aloud, for
he was hungry and frightened,
and would not. even let the
Princess take him. The infant would
rather stay hungry than acknowledge
anyone of the court as mother. Now,
Miriam, the sister, incognito, no one
suspecting her relation to the child,
leaps from the bank and rushes down
and offers to get a nurse to pacify the
child. Consent is given, and she brings
Jochebed, the baby's mother, incognito,
none of the court knowing that she was
the mother; and when Jochebed ar
rived, the child stopped crying, for its
fright was Gained and it's hunger ap-
peased. You may admire Jochebed,
the mother, and all the ages may adj
mire Moses, but clap my hands in APP
plause at the behavior of Miriam, the
faithful, brilliant and strategic sister.
$50 home" some one might have said
to Miriam; why risk yourself out there
alone on the banks of the Nile, breath
ing the miasma, and in danger of being
attacked of wild beast or ruffian; ''go
home!" No; Miriam, the sister, more
lovingly watched and bravely defended
Moses, the brother. Is he worthy her
care and courage? Oh, yes; the go
centuries of the worlds history have
never had so much involved in the ar
rival of any ship at any port as in the
landing of that papyrus boat caulked
with bitumen! Its one passenger was
to be a nonsuch in history-lawyer,
statesman, politician, legislator, or
ganizer, conquerer, deliverer. He had
such remarkable beauty in childhood
that Josephus says, when he was car
ried along the road, people stopped to
gaze at him and workmen would leave
their work to admire him. When the
king playfully put his crown upon this
boy, he threw it off Indignantly and
put his foot on it. The king, fearing
that this might be sign that the
child might yet take down his crown,
applied another test According to the
Jewish legend, the king ordered two
bowls to be put before the child, one
containing rubies and the other burn
ing Goals; and if he took the Goals, he
was to live, and If took the rubies he
was to die. For some reason the
child took one of the Goals, and put it
in his mouth, so that his life was
spared, although it burned the tongue
till he was indistinct of utterance, ever
after. Having come to manhood, he
spread open the palms of his hands in
prayer, and the Red sea parted to let
100000 people escape. And he put
the palms of his hands together in
prayer, and the Red sea closed on a
strangulated host.
His life so unutterly grand, his burial
must be on the same scale. God would
let neither man nor saint nor arch
angel have anything to do with weav-
ing for him shrould or digging for
him a grave. The omnipotent God,
left His throne in Heaven one day, and
if the question was asked, "Whither
is the King of the Universe going?'
the answer was, II am going down to
bury Moses" And the Lord took the
mightiest of men to the top of a hill,
and the day was clear, and Moses ran
his eye over the magnificent range Of
country. Here the valley of Esdraelon,
where the final battle of all nations is
to be fought; and yonder, the noun
tains Hermon, and Lebanon, and
Gerizim, and the hills of Judea; and
the village of Bethlehem there, and
and the city of Jericho yonder, and
the vast stretch of landscape that
almost took the old lawgiver's
breath away as he looked al
it. And then without pang-as
learn from the statement that the eye