The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-08-11

the shanty on the commons or the
mansion of the fashionable square l
greet her with the Shout, '.all hail.
Queen Vashti.''
What glory was there on the brow of
Mary of Scotland, or Elizabeth of
England, or Margaret of France, or
Catharne 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 Iut her all into the
Lords treasury: or of Jephthah's
daughter, who made a demonstration
OF unself1sh patriotism: or of Abigail
who rescued the herds and hocks of
her husbands; or of Ruth. who toiled
under tropical sun for poor. old,
helpless Naomi; or of Florence Night
lngalc, who went at midnight to stanch
the battle wounds of the Crimea: or of
Mrs. Adoniram Judson, who kindled
the lights of salvation amid the
darkness of Burma: or of Mrs.
Hemans, who poure ont her holy soul
in words which will forever be
associated with hunters horn.
r,
and lutes throb, and curfew's knell at
the dying day, and scores and hun
dreds OF women unknown on earth
who have given water to the thirsty,
and bread to the hungry, and medicine
to the sick. and smiles to the discour-
aged. their footsteps heard along dark
lane and in government hospital and in
almshouse corridor and by prison gate?
There may be no royal robe. There
may be no palatial surroundings. She
does not need them. for all charitable
men will unite with the cracking lips
Of fever struck hospital and plague
blotched lazaretto in greeting her as
She passes: Hail! Hail. Queen Vashti!"
Again, l want you to consider Wash
ii the veiled. Had she appeared before
Ahasuerus and his court on that day
with her face uncovered she would
have shocked all the delicacies of ORR
entail society, and the very men who in
their intoxication demanded that she
come in their sober moments would
have despised her. AS some flower,
seem to thrive best in the dark lane
and in the sha low and where the sun
does not seem to reach them, so God
appoints to most womanly natures a
retiring and unobtrusive spirit. Col
once in a while does call an Isabella
to throne, Or a Miriam to strike
the timbrel at the front of host,
or Marie Antoinctte to quell French
mob, or De borah to stand at the
front of an armed battalion. crying
out: Up! Up! This is the day in
which the Lord will deliver Sisera into
thy hands" And when the women are
called to such outdoor work and to such
heroic positions God prepares them for
1T. and they have iron in their soul.
and lightnings in their eye, and whirl-
winds in their breath, and the bor-
rowed strength of the Lord omniro.
tent in their right arm. They walk
through furnaces as though they we're
hedges of wildfowers and cross seas as
though they were shimmering sap
phire, and all the harpies of hell down
to their dungeon at the stamp of wom-
anly Indignation.
But these are exceptions. Generally
Dorcas would rather make garment
for the poor boy, Rebecca would rather
fill the trough of the camels. Hannah
would rather make a coat for Samuel.
the He brew maid would rather give a
prescription for Naaman's leprosv, the
woman OF Sarepta would rather gather
Il few sticks to cook meal for fam
ished ijah, Phebe would rather carry
letter for the inspired apostle.
Mother Lois would rather educate
Timothy in the Scriptures. When l
see woman going about her daily
duty, with cheerful dignity at the
table, with kind and eentle, but firm
discipline presiding in the nursery.
going out into the world without anv
blast of trumpets, following the foot
steps of Him who went about doing
good. say, This is Vashti with a veil
on.
But when l see a woman of un nblush-
ing boldness. loud voiced. with a tongue
of infinite Glitter clatter. with arro-
CANT look, passing through the streets
with the step of walking beam. gayly
arrayed in very hurricane of millin-
cry. l cry out: ''Vashti has lost her
veil" When see woman struggling
for political preferment. trying to
force her way up to conspicuity amid
the masculine demagogues, who stand
with swollen fists and bloodshot eyes
and pestiferous breath to guard the
polls, wanting to go through the loaf
erism and detilenent of popular sover-
eigns, who crawl up from the saloons
greasy and toul and vermin covered to
decide questions of justice and order
and civiliza ation-when l see woman.
| say. who wants to press through all
that horrible scum to get to public
place and power. l say: "Ah, what a
pity! Vashti has lost her veil!''
When l see woman of comely fea-
lures and of adroitness of intellect and
endowed with all that the schools can
do for her and of high social position.
yet moving in society with supercil-
iousnes, and hauteur, as though she
would have people know their place
and with an underlined combination
of gigglc and strut and rhodomont-
ade, endowed with aliopathic quanti-
ties of talk, but only homeopathic in
y