The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-04
TALMAGE SPEAKS ON WOMAN.
TENT BASED ON STORY OF THE
BEAUTIFUL QUEEN VAsHTI.

obey the Drunken Kings Mandate
to Appear Unveiled Before the
Princes Gathered at His Drunken
ReveI-Vashti the Yelled and the
Modern VashH Unveiled.
Washington, July 3.-Dr. Talmage, in
this discussion, tells the story of a beauu-
fun queen dethroned, and draws practical
lessons for all conditions and all times
Text, Esther /: HIP: Bring Vashti, the
Queen before the King with the crown
royal, to show the people and the princes
her beauty: for she was fair to look upon.
But the queen Vashu refused to come.
We stand amid the palaces of shushan.
The pinnacles are afiame with the morn
ing light. The columns rise festooned and
wreathed, the wealth of empires flashing
from the grooves; the ceiling adorned
with images of bird and beast, and scenes
of proves and conquest The walls are
hung with shields, and emblazoned until
IL seems that the whole round of splendors
is exhausted. Each arch is a mighty leaf
of architectural achievement. Golden stars
Shining down on glowing arabesque.
Hangings of embroidered work in which
ming.e the blueness of the sky, the green
ness of the grass and the wilderness of the
sea-foam, Tapestries hung on silver rings,
wedding together the pillars of marble.
Pavions reaching out in every direction.
These for repose, filled with luxuriant
couches, in which weary limbs sink until
all fatigue is submerged. Those for ca
rousal. where kings drink down a king
dom 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 In
connection with this palace there is
garden, 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
honeysuckie and frankincense fills the air.
Fountains leap up into the light the spray
struck through with rainboWs failing into
crystalline baptism upon towering shrubs
then rolling down through channels of
marble, and widening out here and there
INTO pools sWirling the finny tribes of
foreign aquariums, bordered with scarlet
anemones, hypericums and many-colored
ranuncul.
Meats of rarest bird and beast smoking
j
filled with apricots and almonds. The
baskets piled up with apricots and figs
and oranges and pomegIanates. Melons
tastefully twined with leaves of acacia.
The bright waters of Eulaeus filing the
urns and dropping outside the rim in
flashing beads amid the traceres. Wine
from the royal watts of Tspahan and Shi-
raz, 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 flush
ed the cheek and touched the brain, and
louder than all other voices are the hic-
cough of the inebriates, the gable of
fools, and the song of the drunkards.
In another part of the palace Queen
Nashu is entertaining the Princess Of
Persia at a banquet. Drunken Ahasuerus
says to his servants: You go and fetch
Nashti from that banquet with the wo-
men, and bring her to this banquet with
the men, and let me display her beau
ty" 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 mandate
that no one dare dispute, demanding that
Nashti come in unveiled before the multi
tude. However there was in Vashtrs
soul a principle more regal than Ahasue-
rus, more brilliant than the gold of Shu-
Eudu, Oh more wealth. tflHn the realm or
Persia, which commanded her to disobey
this order of the KING; and so all the
righteousness and holiness and modesty
of her nature rise up into one sublime re-
| fusal. She says: Il will not go into the
! banquet unveiled" Ahasuerus was infu-
rate; and Vashti, robbed of her position
| and her estate, Is driven forth in poverty
| and ruin to suffer the scorn of a nation
| and yet to receive the applause of after
generations who shall rise up to admire
| this martyr to kingly insolence. Wen,
| 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 ruin; but as long
| the world stands there will be multi
! tudes of men and women, familiar with
| the Bible, who Will come into this picture
! gallery of God and admire the divine por-
trait of Vashu, the Queen. Vashti, the
yelled, Nashti, the sacrifice Vashti the
! silent.
In the first place, I want you to look
| upon Vashu. the Queen A blue ribbon,
rayed with white, drawn around her fore
! head, indicated 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 il is not necessary to have place and
| regal robe in order to be queenly. When
| l see a woman with stout faith in God
| putting her foot upon all meanness and
| SellSnneSS ana SOulSSS display, gong
| right forward 20 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 comes
| up from the shanty on the commons or
the mansion of the fashionable square, Z
greet her with the shout. IAN hail, Queen
| Nashti"
What glory was there on the brow of
Mary Of Scotland. or Elizabeth of Eng
land or Margaret of France. or Catherine
OF Russia, compared with the worth of
some of our Christian mothers, many OF
them gone into glory?-or of that woman
mentioned in the scriptures, who put her
all into the Lords treasury ?-or of Jeph-
thah's daughter, who made demonstra-
ton Of unselflsh patriotism? or of Abigail,
who rescued the herds and focks OF her
husband?-or of Ruth, who toied under
a tropical sun for poor. old helpless Ma
omi?-or of Florence Nightingale, who
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