Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1900-01-11

sports, listening to your evening
prayers. toiling for you with needle
or at the spinning wheel, and on cold
nights wrapping you up snug and
warm. And then at last on that day
when she lay In the back room dying.
and you saw her take those thin hands
with which she had toiled for you so
long. and put them together in a dy-
ing prayer that commended you to the
God whom she had taught you to trust
oh. she was the queen! The chariots
of God came down to fetch her: and
as she went up all heaven rose up.
You cannot think of her now without a
rush of tenderness that stirs the deep
foundations of your soul. and you feel
as much child again as when you
cried on her lap: and II you could
bring her back again to speak just
once more your name, as tenderly as
she used to speak It. you would be will
ing to throw yourself on the ground
and kiss the sod that covers her, cry
ing: Mother! ~mother!"' All. she was
the queen-she was the queen! Now.
can you tell me how many thousand
miles a woman like that would have to
travel down before she got to the bal
lot box? Compared with this work OF
training kings and queens for God and
eternity. how Insignificant seems all
this work Of voting for alderman and
common councilmen. and sheriffs. and
constables. and mayors. and presi-
dents! To make one such grand wom-
an as I have described. how many
thousands would you want Of those
people who 60 In the round Of fashion
and dissipation. going as far toward
disgraceful apparel as they dare go.
SO as not to be arrested by the police
their behavior a sorrow to the good
and a carricature to the vicious. and
an insult to that God who made them
women and not gorgons. and tramping
on, down through a frivolous and dis
sipated life. to temporal and eternal
damnation.
Oh. woman. with the lightning OF
your soul. strike dead at your feet all
these allurements to dissipation and
to fashion. Your immortal soul can
hSs VIC hSo III ouNh tat cASC. soNA ~~>e'S
you up to empire and dominion. Will
you have it? Oh. give God your heart.
give to God all your best energies;
give to God all your culture; give to
uUd all your refinement; give your
self to him for this world and the
next Soon all these bright eyes will
be quenched. and these voices will be
hushed. For the last time you will
look upon this fair earth. Fathers
hand. mothers hand, sisters hand
will no longer be In yours. 1t will be
night. and there will come up n cold
wind from the Jordan, and you will
start. viii 1t be a lone woman on a
trackless moor? An, mol Jesus will
come up in that hour and offer his
hand. and he will say: You stood by
me when you were we'll; now I will
not desert you when you are sick" One
wave OF his hand. and the storm will
drop; and another wave of his hand
and midnight will break into midnoon:
and another wave OF his hand and the
| chamberlains of God will come down
| from the treasure houses of heaven.
with robes lustrous. blood-washed and
-glinted. in which you will array
yourself for the marriage supper OF
the Lamb. And then with Marian,
who struck the timbrel of the Red sea:
and with Deborah, who led the Lords
host into the fight; and with Hannah.
who gave ner Samuel to the Lord; and
with Mary who rocked Jesus to sleep.
while there were angels singing in the
air: and with the sisters of charity.
who bound up the battle-wounds of
the Crimea. you will. from the challice
of God. drink to the souls eternal res
cue.
Your dominion is home, o woman!
What q brave fight for home the
women of Ohio made some ten or fif-
teen years ago. when they banded to-
getber and in many of the towns and
cities of that state marched In process
sion, and by prayer and Christian
songs shut up more places of dissi-
patton than were ever counted. Were
they opened again? Oh. yes. But Is
II not a good thing to shut up the
gates of hell for two or three months!
II seemed that men engaged in the
business of destroying others did not
know how to cope with this kind of
warfare. They knew how to fight the
Maine liquor law. and they knew how
to fight the National Temperance So
ciety. and they knew how to fight the
Sons of Temperance and Good Samari-
tans; but when Deborah appeared
upon the scene, Sisera took to
his feet and got to the noun
tains. It seems that they did
not know how to contend against
Coronation" and "Old Hundred" and
"Brattle Street." and Bethany" they
were SO very Intangible. These men
found they could not accomplish much
against that kind OF warfare. and in
one of the cities regiment was
brought out all armed to dispense the
women. They came down In battle
array: but oh. what poor success! for
that regiment was made up Of gentle
men. and gentlemen do not like to
shoot women with hymn books In their
hands. Oh. they found that cunning
for female prayer-meetings was a very
poor business! No real damage was
done. although there was threat of
violence after threat of violence all
over the land. I really think II the
women Of the east had as much faith
in God as their sisters Of the west had.
and the same recklessness Of human
criticism. really believe that In one
month three-fourtns OF the grog-shops
of our cities would be closed. and there
would be running through the cutters
Of the streets Burgundy, and Cognac.