The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1898-07-15

| does not need them. 1Or ali enarlt3Ole
men will unite with the cracking lips
of fever struck hospital and plague
blotched lazaretto in greeting her as
| she passes: Hail! Hail! Queen Vashtil"
| Again, l want you to consider wash
| ii the yelled. 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 a throne, or a Miriam to strike
the timbrel at the front of host.
or Marie Antoinette to quell French
mob, or a Deborah to stand at the
front of an armed battalion, crying
out: up! Upi 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 wildhowers 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 Hebrew maid would rather give a
prescription for Naamans leprosy, the
woman of Sarepta would rather gather
few sticks to cook a meal for fam
ished Elijah, Phebe would rather carry
a letter for the inspired apostle,
Mother Lois would rather educate
Timothy in the Scriptures. When l
see a 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 a veil
on"
But when / see a woman of unbluSh
ing holiness, lohd voiced, with tongue
of infinite Glitter clatter. with AFRO
CANT look, passing through the streets
with the step of walking beam. gayly
arrayed in very hurricane of millin-
cry, / 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 defilement of popular sover-
eigns, who crawl up from the saloons
greasy and foul and vermin covered to
decide questions of justice and order |
and civilization-when | 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 vailr'
When / see a 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 combina alton |
of giggle and strut and rhodomont-
ade, endowed with allopathic quaint
ties of talk, but only homeopathic in
finitesimals of sense, the terror of dry
goods clerks and railroad conductors
of significant meanings in
plain conversation, prodigies of badin
age and innuendo, / say, "Vashti has
lost her veil"
Again, l want you this morning to
consider Vashti the sacrifice. Who is
this that / see coming out of that pal
ace gate of Shushan? 1t seems to me
hat / have seen her before. She |
comes homeless hOuselesS friendless,
along with a broken heart
Who is she? 1t is Vashti the sacrifice.
Oh, what a change it was from regal
position to wayfarer's crust! A little
while ago approved and sought for.
Now. none SO poor as to acknowledge
Ter mountaineering Vashti the sac
ifce.
Alb, you and / have seen it many
ime! Here is home empalaced with
beauty. All that refinement and books
nd wealth can do for that home has
,een done; but Ahasuerus the hus-
,aad and father, is taking hold on
'aths of sin. He is gradually going
own. After awhile he will founder
nd struggle like a wild beast in a
lunter's net-farther away from God,
arther away from the right. Soon
he bright apparel of the children will ;
urn to rags; soon the household song
7ill become the sobbing of broken {
cart. The old story over again. {
Brutal centaurs breaking up the mar
iage feast OF Lapithse The house full
f outrage and cruelty and abomina-
ion, while trudging forth from the '
alace gate are Vashti and her chill
rem. There are homes in all parts of I
his land that are in danger of such {
up. Oh, Ahasuerus, that I
on should stand in home by dissi
ated life destroying the peace and t
omfort of that homel God forbid
hat your children should ever have I
D wiring their hands and havs people {
ONT their finger at them as they pass c
own the street and say. there goes t
drunkard's child" God forbid that a
he little feet should ever have to Y
-udge the path of poverty and wretch Y
1nessl God forbid that any evil spirit t
orn of the wine cup or the brandy
lass should come forth and uproot |
rat garden, and with lasting, blister {
4.