The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-07-06

\ lngale, 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 poured out her holy soul
in words which will forever be
associated with hunters horn,
and captive's chain, and bridal hour,
and lute's 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, 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 flowers
seem to thrive best in the dark lane
and in the shadow and where the sun
does not seem to reach them, so God
appoints to most womanly natures a
retiring and unobtrusive spirit. God
once in a while does call an Isabella
to throne, or Miriam to strike
the timbrel at the front of a host,
or Marie Antoinette to quell French
mob, or Deborah 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
it, 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 omnipo.
tent in their right arm. They walk
through furnaces as though they were
hedges of wildflowers 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 coat for Samuel,
the Hebrew maid would rather give a
prescription for Naaman's leprosy, the
woman of Sarepta would rather gather
a few sticks to cook meal for fam.
ished Elijah, Phebewould rather carry
a letter for the inspired apostle,
Mother. Lois would rather educate
Timothy g. in the Scriptures. When
see woman going. about her daily
duty, with cheerful dignity at the
table, with kind and gentle, but firm
discipline presiding in the nursery,
going out into the world without any
blast of trumpets, following the foot
steps of Him who went about doing
good, say, This is Vashti with veil
on"
But when / see woman of unblush'
ing bCldness, loud voiced, with tongue
of infinite Glitter clatter with AFRO
giant 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 tc
force her way up to conspicuity annie
the masculine demagogues, who stanc
with swollen fists and bloodshot eyes
and pestiferous breath to guard the
polls, wanting to go through the loaf
erism and defilement of popular sover
eigns, who crawl up from the saloons
greasy and foul and vermin covered tc
decide questions of justice and order
and civilization-when l see woman
l say, who wants to press through all
that horrible scum to get to public
place and power. l say: "Ah, what q
pity! Vashti has lost her veil!"
When | 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
iousness and hauteur, as though she
would have people know their place
and with an underlined combination
of giggle and strut and rhodomont
ade, endowed with allopathic quanti
ties of talk, but only homeopathic in.
fnitesimals of sense, the terror of dry
goods clerks and railroad conductors
discoverers of significant meanings il
plain conversation, prodigies of badin
age and innuendo, l say, "Vashti ha'
lost her veil"
Again, want you this morning t.
consider Vashti the sacrifice. Who il
this that see coming out of that pal
ace gate of Shushan? 1t seems to mt
that / have seen her before. She
comes homeless, houseless, friendless
tcudging along with broken heart
Who is she? 1t is Vashti the sacrifice
Oh, what change it was from rega
position to wayfarer's crust! A little
while ago approved and sought for
Now, none SO poor as to acknowledge
her acquaintanceship. Vashti the sac
rifice.
All, you aud have seen it many {
- I = n
beauty. All that refinement and books
and wealth can do for that home hat
been done; but Ahasuerus the hus