The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1898-01-27
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
"WOMAN'S WORK" LAST SUM-
DAYS SUBJECT.
Every Wise Woman Buildeth Her
House"-Book OF Proverbs, Cha pier
XIV, Verse 1-AdviceH:eo the Young
Girls of Today.

Woman, a mere adjunct to man, an
appendix to the masculine volume,
an appendage, a sort of after
thought, something thrown in to make
things even-that is the heresy en-
tertalned and implied by some men.
This is evident to them, because Adam
was first created, and then Eve. They
don't read the whole story, or they
would find that the porpoise and the
bear and the hawk were created before
Adam, so that this argument, drawn
from priority of creation, might prove
that the sheep and the dog were great
er than man. No Woman was an in
dependent creation, and was intended,
II she chose, to live alone, TO work
alone, act alone, think alone, and fight
her battles alone. The Bible says it
is not good for man to be alone, but
never says it is not good for woman to
DO alone; and the simple fact is that
many women who are harnessed for
life in the marriage religion would be
thousandfold better off if they were
alone.
Who are these men who, year after
year, hang around hotels and engine
houses and theater doors, and come in
and out to bother busy clerks and mer-
chants and mechanics, doing nothing,
where there is plenty to do? They are
men supported by their wives and
mothers. If the statistics of any of our
cities could be taken on this subject,
you would find that vast multitude
OF women not only support themselves,
but masculines. A great legion Of
men amount to nothing, and a woman
by marriage, manacled to one Of these
nonentities, needs coincidence. A wo-
man standing outside the marriage re-
lation is several hundred thousand
times better off than woman badly
married. Many bride, instead of a
wreath of orange blossoms might more
properly wear bunch Of nettles and
nightshade, and, instead of the We'd
ding March, more appropriate tune
would be the Dead March in Saul, and,
instead of banquet Of confectionery
and ices, there might be more appro-
pCiately spread table covered with
apples of Sodom.
Many an attractive woman, of good
sound sense in other things, has mar
RED one of these men to reform him.
what was the result? Like when
dove, noticing that a vulture was ra-
paclous and cruel, set about to reform
II, and said, Il have a mild disposition,
and like peace, and was brought up
In the quiet of dove-cote, and I will:
bring the vulture to the same liking
by marrying him." so, one day, after
the Vulture declared he would give up
his carniverous habits and cease long
ing for blood of flock and herd, at an
altar Of rock covered with moss and
llchen, the twain were married, a bald
headed eagle officiating, the vulture
saying, with all my dominion of
earth and sky, thee endow, and prom
Use to love and cherish till death do
us part" But one day the dove in her
fright, saw the vulture busy at a car
cass and cried, stop that! did you not
promise me that you would quit your
carniverous and filthy habits if I mar
ried your" Eyes," said the vulture,
but if you don't like my way you
can leave" and with one angry stroke
of the beak, and another fierce clutch
of the claw, the vulture left the dove
eyeless and wingless and lifeless. And
flock of robins flying past, cried to
each other and said, "See there! that
comes from dove marrying vulture
to reform him"
Many a woman who has had the
hand of young inebriate offered, but
declined it, or who was asked to chain
her life to man selfish, or of bad
temper, and refused the shackles. will
bless God throughout all eternity that
she escaped that earthly pandemo-
mum.
Besides all this, in our country about
one million men were sacrificed in our
Civil war, and that decreed a million
women to celibacy. Besides that.
since the war, several armies of men
as large as the Federal and Confeder-
ate armies put together, have fallen
under malt liquors and distilled Spirits
SO full of poisoned ingredients that the
work was done more rapidly, and the
fifty thousand men are DESTROYED every
year by strong drink before marriage
that makes in the thirty-three years
since the war one million six hundred
and fifty thousand men slain, and de-
crees one million six hundred and fiftv
thousand women to celibacy. Take.
then, the fact that so many women are
unhappy in their marriage, and the
fact that the slaughter of two million
five hundred and fifty thousand men.
by war and rum combined, decides that
at least that number of women shall
be unbalanced for life, my text comes
in with cheer and potency and appro-
priateness that you may never have
seen in it before when it says, EVERY
wise woman buildeth her house: that
is, let woman be her own architect,
lay out her own plans, be her own SUI
pervisor. achieve her own destiny.
In addressing those women who
have to fight the battle alone, I con-
graduate you on your happy escape.
Rejoice forever that you will not have
to navigate the faults of the other sex,
yI.~