Connecticut western news., 1899-01-19
NOBLE WOM MANHOOD.
OR. TAlMAGE TELLS OF THE VALUE
 OF GOOD WIVES.

VT oSSD '''%O'
 Hundreds of Men Are Successful Only
 Because of Wise HeIpmates-Great
 In Piety, Kindness and Hospitality. 1899. by American Press Asso-
 ciation.l
 WASHINGTON, Jan. 15.-A Scripture character whose name is not given be- comes the subject of Dr. Talmage's ser mon in which he hGe sets forth the qualities of good and noble womanhood; text. II Kings iv, s. ''Elisha passed to Shunem, where was q great woman,
 The hotel of our time had no coun- terpart in any entertainment of olden time. The vast majority of travellers must then be entertained at private abode. Here comes Elisha. a servant of the Lord. on 8 divine mission, and he must find shelter. A balcony overlook ing the valley of Esdraelon is offered him in private house, and 1t Is espe- cially furnished for his occupancy-a chair to sit on, table from which to eat, candlestick by which to read and a bed on which to slumber, the whole establishment belonging to great and good woman Her husband, 1t seems, was a godly man, but he was entirely overshadowed by his wife's excellences; just as now you sometimes find ln a household the wife the center of dignity and influence and power, not by any arrogance or presumption, but by su- perior intellect and force of moral na- ture, yielding domestic affairs and at the same time supervising all financial and business affairs-the wife's hand on the shuttle or the banking house or the worldly business.
 You see hundreds of men who are successful only because there Is reason at home why they are successful. If a man marty. good, honest soul he makes his fortune. If he marry fool, the Lord help him. The wife may be the silent partner in the firm, there may be only masculine voices down on Elk change, but there oftentimes comes from the home circle potential and elevat- ing influence. This woman of my text was the superior of her husband. He, az far as I can understand was what we often see in our day, a man of large fortune and only modicum of brain, intensely quiet, sitting a long while in the same place without moving hand or foot, if you say "Yes" responding "Yes;' if you say "No,' responding 'No"-inane, eyes half shut, mouth wide open, maintaining his position in society only because he has a large But his wife, my text says, was a great woman. Her name has not come down to us. She belonged to that collection of people who need no name to distinguish them What would title of duchess or princess or queen-what would escutcheon or gleaming diadem be to this woman of nay text, who by her intelligence and her behavior chal- ienges the admiration of all agess Long after the brilliant women of the court of Louis XV have been forgotten and the brilliant women of the court of Spain have been forgotten and the bril- liant women who sat on the throne of Russia have been forgotten some grand father will put on his spectacles, and holding the book the other side the light read to his grandchildren the story of this great woman of Shunem who was so kind and courteous and Christian to the good prophet Elisha. Yes, she was a great woman.
 Practice Hospitality.
 In the first place, she was great in her Inequalities. Uhcivilized and bar bareus nations have this virtue. Jupiter had the surname of the Hospitable, and he was said especially to avenge the wrongs of strangers. Homer extolled it in his verse. The Arabs are punctilious on this subject, and among some of their tribes it is not until the ninth day of tarrying that the occupant has a right to ask his guest, "Who and whence art thou2" If this virtue is so honored among barbarians, how ought it to be honored among those of us who believe in the Bible, which commands us to use hospitality one toward anoth CT without grudgingl
 Of course do not mean under this cover to give any idea that approve of that vagrant class who go around from place to place, ranging their whole life time, perhaps under the auspices of some benevolent or philanthropic soci ety, quartering themselves on Christian families with a. agreat pile of trunks in the hall and carpetbag portentous of tarrying There is many country par sonage that looks out week by week up on the ominous arrival of wagon with creaking wheel and lank horse and di- driver, come under the auspices of some charitable institution to spend a few weeks and canvass the neighbor- hood Let no such religious tramps take advantage of this beautiful virtue of Christian hospitality. Not so much the sumptuousness of your diet and the regality of your abode will impress the friend or the stranger that steps across your threshold as the warmth of your greeting, the informality of your recep- ton, the reiteration by grasp, and by look. and by thousand attentions, in significant attentions, of your earnest ness of welcome. There will be high appreciation of your welcome, though you have nothing but the brazen can dlestick and the plain chair to offer Elisha when he comes to Shunem. Most beautiful is this grace of hospitality when shown in the house of God. 1 am thankful that have always been pastor of churches where strangers are well come. But I have entered churches where there was no hospitality. A stranger would stand in the vestibule for awhile and then make pilgrimage up the long aisle. No door opened to him until, flushed and excited and em- barrassed, he started back again and, coming to some half filled pew, with apologetic air entered it, while the oc- cupant glared on him with look which seemed to say, "Well, if I must, l must" Away with such accursed in- decency from the house of God. Let ev cry church that would maintain large Christian influence in community cul- ture Sabbath by Sabbath this beautiful grace of Christian hospitality.