Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-07-08
AQUEEN DETHRONED.
Or. TALMAGE TELLS THE STORY OF
THE BEAUTIFUL VASHTl.

Practical Lessons Drawn From Her Sad
Life For All Conditions and All Times,
A Oueenly Martyr to Kingly Insolence.
A Woman to Initiate.
l!Copyrlght. ls9S. by American Press Asso-
ciation.l
WASHINGTON, July 3.-Dr. Talmage
in this discussion tells the story Of a
beautiful queen dethroned, and draws
practical lessons for all conditions and
all times; text, Esther i, 11-l2, Bring
Yashti, the queen, before the king with
the crown royal. 10 show the people and
the princes her beauty; for she was fair
to look upon. But the Queen Vashti re-
fused TO come"
We stand amid the palaces Of Shu-
shan. The pinuacles are afame with
the morning light The columns rise
fest0oned and wreathod, the wealth of
empires flashing from the grooves; the
ceilings adorned with images Of bird
and beast and scenes Of prowess and
conquest. The walls are hung with
shields and emblazoned until 1t seems
that the whole round of splcudors Is OK
hausted. Each arch is mighty leaf Of
architectural achievement. Golden stars
shining down on glowing arabesque
Hangings of embroidered work in which
mingle the blueness of the sky, the
greenncss Of the grass and the white
ness Of the sea foam. Tapestries hung
on silver rings wedding together the
pillars of marble PayiiOns reaching
out in every direction. These for rep0se
filed with luxuriant couche, in which
weary limbs sink until all fatigue Is
submerged Those for carousal where
kings drink down a kingdom at one
swallow. Amazing spectacle Light Of
silver dripping down over stairs Of
ivory on shields of gold. Floors of stain
ed marble, sunset red and night black.
and inlaid with cleaning pearl In
connection with this palace there Is a
garden where the mighty men of for
eien lands are seated ar "a banquet Tn
der the spread Of oak and linden and
acacia the tables are arranged. The
breath of honevsuckle and frankincen,e
nils the air. Fountains leap up into the
light. the spray struck through with
ruinb0ws falling into crystalline bap-
tism upon towering shrubs-then roll
ing down through channels Of marble
and widening out here and there into
pools swirling with the tinny tribe, of
foreign aquariums. bordered with scar
let anemone,. hypericums and. many
colored ranuncul
Meats of rarcst bird and beast smok-
ing up amid wreaths of ar0matics. The
vases filed with apricots and almonds.
The baskets piled up with aprlcots and
figs and oranges and pomegranates.
Melons tastctully twined with leaves Of
acacia The bright waters OF EulIus
filling the urns and dropping outside the
rim in flashing beads amid the traceries.
Wine from the royal watts of lspahan ana
Shiraz in bottles Of tinged shell aud lily
shaped cups Of silver and hagons and
tankard, of solid gold. The music rlses
higher. and tine revelry breaks out into
wilder transport, and the wine has
flushed the cheek and touched the brain,
and louder than all other voices are the
hiccough of 'he inebriates, the gaoble OF
fools and tine song of the drunkards.
Bidden to the Banquet.
In another part of the palace Queen
Yashti is entertaining the Princess OF
Per,iaat banquet. Drunken Ahasuerus
saws 10 his servants, You 20 and fetch
Vashti from that banquet with the wom-
en- and bring her to this banquet with
the men and LIT me display her beauty.
The servants Immediately start % obey
the kings command, bat there was "A
rule i'm oriental society that no woman
might appear in public without having
her face vciled. yet here was a mandate
that no one dare dispute demanding that
Va,hti come in unveiled before the null
titude. However, there was in NaShtl :
soul a principle more regal than Aha'ue.
rus more brilliant than the gold OF
Shushan. Of more wealth than the realm
Of Persia. which commanded her TO dis
obey this order Of the king, and so all
thc righteousness and holiness and mod
estv of her nature rise up into one sub
lime refusal She says, II will not 20
in 10 the banquet unveiled. Ahasuerus
was infuriate, and Nashti, 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 APP
plause Of after generations, who shall
rise mp to admire this martyr TO kingly
iusolence. Well. the last yestlge II that
feast is gone. The last garland has faded,
the last arch has fallen, the last tankard
has been destroyed. and Shushan Is
ruin. but as long rs the world stands
there will be multitudes Of men ana
women. familiar with the Bible, who
will come into this picture gallery OF
God and admire the divine portrait OF
Vashti the queen, Nashti the veiled,
Vashti the sacrifice Nashti the silent.
vashti the Queen.
In the first place. 1 want You to look
upon Vashti, the queen. \ blue ribbon
rayed with white, drawn around her
forehead. indicated her queonly posi-
ton. 1t was no small honor TO be queen
in such a realm as that Hark to tine
hustle Of her robes. See the blaze OF
her Jewels. And yet it is not necessary
to have place and regal robe in order to
be queelily. When | see a woman with
stout faith in God. putting her foot
upon all meanness and selhshness and
goddess display, going right forward to
serve Christ and the race by grand
aid a glorious service. l say. THAT
woman is a queen, and the ranks OF
heaven look over the battlements upon
the coronation, and whether she comes
I'D from the shanty on the commons or
the mansion Of tie fashionable square l
greet her with the shout, "All hail,
Queen NashtiV'
What glory was there on the brow of
Mary of Scotland, OF Elizabeth of Eng
land or Margaret of France, or Gather
inc of Russia compared with the worth
of some Of our Christian mothers, many
- A., ,..,o into glory. or of that