The Iola register., 1898-07-08


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 drr''
lane and in government hospital an.
almshouse corridor and by prison ga!
There may be no royal robe. Tnc,
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: "Haill Hail! Queen Vashtil'
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 ori-
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
retiring and unobtrusive spirit God
once in while does call an Isabella
TO a throne, or a Miriam to strike
the timbrel at the front of a host
or Marie Antoinette to quell French
mob, or a Deborah to stand at the
front of an armed battalion, crying
out: up! Upl 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 Naaman's leprosy, the
woman of Sarepta would rather gather
a few sticks to cook meal for fam
ished Elijah, Phebe would rather carry
letter for the inspired apostle,
Mother Lois would rather educate
Timothy 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 a veil
on"
But when i see woman of unblush-
ing boldness, loud voiced, with a tongue
of infinite Glitter clatter, with arro-
giant look, passing through the streets
with the step of a walking beam, gayly
arrayed in a very hurricane of millin.
cry, l cry out: "Vashti has lost her
veil" When see a woman struggling
for political preferment, trying {,
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 a woman.
l say, who wants to press through all
that horrible scum to get to public
place and power. | say: "Ah, what a
pityl Vashti has lost her veil!"
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 unde fined combination
of giggle and strut and rhodomont-
ade, endowed with allopathic quanti-
ties of talk, but only homeopathic in-
tinitesimals of sense, the terror of dry
goods clerks and railroad conductors,
discoveries of significant meanings in
plain conversation, prodigieS of badin-
age and innuendo, | say, "Vashti has
lost her veil"
Again, | want you this morning to
consider Vashti the sacrifice Who is
this that / see coming out OF that pal
ace gate of Shushan2 1t seems to me
that | have seen her before. She
comes homeless houseless friendless,
trudging along with a broken heart.
Who is She? 1t is Vashti the sacrifice.
Oh, what change it was from regal
position to a wayfarer's crust A little
while ago approved and sought for.
Now. none so poor as to acknowledge
her mountaineering Vashti the sac
rihce.
All, you aud l have seen it many
time! Here is "A home empalaced with
hot a.. 1 1. u