The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-07-12

were shImmerinE sapphire. and all the
harpies OF he'll down to their dungeon
at the STAMP of womanly Indignation
But these are the p Gener-
ally, Dorcas would rather make q gar
msnt for the poor boy; Rebecca would
rather fill the trough OF the cames.
Hannah would rather make a coat for
Samuel; the Hebrew maid would rath-
er give a prescription for lep-
rosy: the woman of Sarepta would rath-
er gather a few sticks 20 cook a meal
for famished Elijah: Pheoe would rath-
er carry a letter for the inspired apos-
tie: Mother Lois would rather educate
Timothy in the Scriptures. When i see
a woman going about her daily duty,
with cheerful dignity presiding at the
table. with kind and gentle but firm dis
cipline presiding in the nursery. goinS
out into the world without any blast
OF trumpets. following in the footsteps
OF him who went about doing good|
say. This Is Vashti with a veil on"
But when I see a woman OF unblush-
ing boldness. loud voiced. with a tongue
OF infinite Glitter chatter. with arrogant
look. passing through the streets with
the step OF a walking beam. gayly ar
rayed In a very hurricane OF millinery.
i cry out. "vasti has lost her veil,"
When ! see a woman. struggling for po-
litical preferment, trying 10 force her
way on up 10 conspicuity amid the mas
culine d~emagogues who stand with
swollen fists and bloodshot eyes and
pestiferous breath TO guard the polls.
wanting to go through the loaferism
and Retirement OF popular sovereigns
who crawl up from the saloons greasy
and foul and vermin covered to decide
questions of justice and order and civil
lization-when j see a woman, / say,
who wants 10 press through all thas
horrible scum TO get to public place and
power, L say: "Ah. what a pity! Nashti
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 supercilious-
Mass nrl bn, y - ~ Nc aaRr h u.nllf6
have people know their place, and with
an underlined combination of giggle and
strut and rhodomontade, endowed with
allopathic quantities of talk. but only
homeopathic infinitesimals OF sense, the
terror of dry goods clerks and railroad
conductors, discoveries of significant
gies of badinage and innuendo. 1 say,
"Vashtt has lost her veil!'
A oUEENLY SACRIFICE.
Again. / want you this morning TO
consider Vashti the sacrifice. Who IS
+, this that 1 see coming out of hat palace
! have seen her before. She comes home
less. houseless, friendless, ~trudging along
with a broken heart. Who is she? Il Is
Vashti the sacrifice. Oh. what a change
farer's crust! A little while ago APP
proved and sought for; now none so
poor as to a~eknowledse her acquain;-
anceship. Vashti the sacrifice.
All, you and I have seen 1t many a
time, Here is a home cmplaced with
beauty. All that refinement and books
and wealth can do for THAI home has
! been done, but Ahasuerus, the husband
and the father, is taking hold on paths
Of sin. He is gradually going down. At
ter awhile he will founder and strug-
gle like . wild beast in the hunters
net, farther away from God. farther
! away from the right. Soon the bright
apparel of the children will turn to
rags, soon the household song VIII be-
come the sobbing of a broken neart. The
old story over again: Brutal Centaurs
breaking up the marriage feast Of Lapi-
thae. The house full of outrage and
I cruelty and abomination, while trudg-
ing forth from the palace gate ale Wash
ii and her children. There are homes in
all parts of this land that are in dam
ger of such breaking up. Oh, Ahrsuerus,
that you should stand in q home, by 2
dissipated life destroying the peace and
, comfort of that home. God forbid that
your children should ever have TO wiring
their hands and have people point their
street and say, There goes a drunk
ards child!" God forbid that the little
feet should ever have to t"udge the path
of poverty and wretchedness. God forbit
that any evil spirit born Of the wine
cup or the brandy glas should come
forth and uproot that garden. and witt,
a lasting, blistering. all consuming curse
shut forever the palace gate against
Vashti and the children.
FIRESIDES OF CHRISTENpOM.
One night during our civil war I
went to Hagerstown to look at the ar
my, and I stood on a hilltop and looked
down upon them. I saw the oampfires
all through the valleys and all over the
hills. 1t was a weird spectacle. those
campfres, and I stood and watched them
and the soldiers who Were gatherei
around them were no doubt talking Of
their homes, and of the long march they
had taken, and of the battles they were
to fight. but after awhile I saw these
campfres begin to lower, AMI they con-
tinued to lower until they were ali gone
out and the army slept. 1t was inpos-
ing when / saw the campfres. 1t was
imposing in the darkness when I thought
Of that great host asleep. Well, God
looks down from heaven. and he sees the
firesides of Christendom and the loved
ones gathered around these firesides.
These are the campfires where we warm
ourselves at the close of day and talk
over the battles of life we have fought
and the battles that are yet to come.
God grant that when at last these fires
begin to go out and continue to lower
until finally. they are extinguished and
the ashes of consumed hopes strew the
hearth of the old homestead, it may b
because we have
Gone to sleep that last sleep
From which none ever wake to weep.
Now We are an army on the march
Of life. Then W shall be an army
bivouacked in the tent of the grave.
vAsHTI THE SILENT.
Once more. I want you to look %
Vashti the silent. You do not hear any
outcry from this woman as she goes
forth from the palace gate. From the
very dignity of her nature you know
there will be no vociferation. Some
times in life it IL necessary to make q
retort, sometimes In life it is necessary
to resist. but there are cries when the
most triumphant thing to do is to keer
silence. The philosopher. confident in
his newly discovered principle, waiting
for the coming of more intelligent gen
erations, willing that men should laugh
at the lightning rod and cotton gin and
steamboat and telegraph. waiting. 70,
long years through the soothing OF philo-
sophical schools in grand and magnif-
cent silence.
: Calico, condemned by mathematl
clans and monks and cardinals. carica.
tured everywhere, yet waiting anf
watching with his telescope to, see. The
coming up of stellar re-enforcements
when the stars in their courses wsalf
tight for the Copernican system, ther
sitting down in complete blindness and
deafness TO wait for the coming on o.
the QAnarAt5nnE whn rar.I I,Etx -