Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-11-30
GOD Semitic WHEEL
THE THEME OF Or. TALMAGE'S
THANKSGIVING SERMON.
Reasons For National Gratitude
D shown In the Development of the
Arts of Pcncc-The wheel us SYM
boil of Prosperity.
Copyright. Louis Klopsch. ls99l

Copyright, Louis Klopsch. 1891
WAsnINGroN, Nov. 2G.-1his discourse
of Dir. TalMagc is sermon of prepare
tion for tho national observance of this
week and in an unusual way calls for
the gratitude of the people; the text, E2c-
kicl Y, Is, "As for the wheels, it was
cried unto them in my hearing, O Wheel
Next Thursday will, by proclamation
OF president and governors, be observed
a. thanksgiving for temporal mercies.
With what spirit shall we enter upon it ?
For nearly year and n half this nation
has been celebrating the triumph of
sword and gun and battery. We have
sung martial airs and chcCrcd returning
heroes and sounded the requiem for the
slain in battle. Mcthnks it will be Il
hcnlthful change if this Thanksgiving
week, in church and homestead, we cclc-
hratc the victories of peace. for nothing
was done at Santiago or Manila that
was Of more importance than that which
e. the last year has been done in farmers
field and mechanics shop and authors
study by those who never wore an cpau-
let or shot Il Spaniard or went a hundred
miles from their own doorsill And now
] call your attention to the wheel of the
tcNt.
Man. small spcck in the universe.
was set down in big world, high noun
tains rising before him, deep seas ar
resting his pathway and wild beasts ca
pablo of his destruction, yet he was to
conquer. II could not be 10y physical force,
for compare his arm with the oX's horn
AMI the elephants tusk, and how weak
h. is. 1t could not be by physical speed.
for compare him to the antelopc's foot
and ptarmgan's wing, and how slow he
is, 1t could not he 10y physical capacity
e. soar or plunge, for the condor beats
him in one direction aud the purpoiSe in
the other Yet he WAS to conquer the
world. Two eyes. two hands, and two
feet were insufficient. He must be re-en-
forced, 50 God sent the wheel.
Twcnty-two times is the wheel men
TONED in the Hiblc. sometimes, as in Eze-
lirl, illustrating providcntial movement;
sometimes as in the Psalms, crushing
,iLo bad; sometimes, as in Judges, repre-
ecnting Gods charoted progress. The
wheel that started in Exodus rolls on
through Proverbs, through Isaiah, through
Jeremiah through Daniel, through Ma
hum, through the centuries, all the time
gathering momentum and splendor, until
seeing what it has done for the world 5
progress and happiness, we clap our
hands in thanksgiving and employ the
appstrophe of the text, crying, 30
vhocl.'
/ call on you in this THANKSGIVING week
t. praise God for the tliumphS of ma
chincry. which have revolutonizcd the
world and multiplied its attractions. Even
paradise, though very picturesque must
. .,lr. ,ltt1l hnr liz.
anything going on, no agriculture needed,
for the harvest was spontaneous; no
architecture required, for they slept I'M
der the trees: no manufacturer loom
necessary for the weaving of apparel, for
Che fashions were exceedingly simple. To
dress the garden could NOT have required
ten minutes day.
Turned ont of Paradise.
Having nothing to do, they got into
mischief and ruined themselves and the
race. 1t was a sad thing to be turned
out of paradise, but once turned out, a
bcuelicent thing to be compelled to work.
70 help man up and on God sent the
wheel. If turned ahead, the race ad-
yauccs; if turned back. the race retreats.
70 arouse your gratitude and exHlt your
praise | would show you what the wheel
has done for the domestic world, for the
agricultural world, for the travelling
world for the literary world. "As for the
Wheels it was cried unto them in my
hearing. q wheel
In domestic life the wheel has wrought
revolution. Behold the sewing machine,
] has shattered the housewives bondage
aud prolonged woman's life and added
undesirable advantages. The needle
for ages had punctured the eyes and
pierced the side and made terrible mas
sacre. To prepare the garments of n
whole household in the spring for sum-
NOR and in the autumn for winter was an
eNhausting process. stitch, stitch,
etitchw Thomas Hood set it to poetry,
lut millions Of persons have found il
ngonizing prose.
Slain by the sword, we buried the hero
with Dead March" in Saul and flags
pt half mast. Slain by the needle, no one
Knew it but the household that watched
her health giving way. The winter after
Mat the children were ragged and cold
End hungry or in the almshouse. The
band that welded the needle had forgot
ncn its cunning. Soul and body had part
Nd at the seam. The thimble had drop
bed from the palsied finger. The threaC
Of life had snapped and let a sufferinf
Auman lie drop INTO the grave. Inc SpOO
VAS all unwound. Her sepulcher was
Higged not with sections spade, but will
= sharper and shorter implcmcnt-a nee
Ale. Federal and Confederate dead have
Nruamented graves at Arlington Heights
and Richmond and Gettysburg, thou
sands by thousands but it will take thu
Rrchangels trumpet to find the millior
graves of the vaster army Of womel
needle slain
Besides all the sewing done for tn
household at home, there are hundreds o
thousands of sewing women. The trag
edy of the needle is the tragedy of hun
ger and cold and insult and homcsicli
ness and suicide-fve acts.
But ! hear the rush of wheel. Wo
man puts on the band and adjusts tn
instrument, puts her foot on the trcadl
and begins Before the whir and rattl
plcurisics, consumptOns, headache,
backaches, heartaches, are routed Th
needle, once an oppressive tyrant, be
comes cheerful slave-roll and rumbl
and roar until the family wardrobe
gathered and winter is dched, and sun
mcr is welcomed, and the ardors and sc
verities of the seasons are overcome