Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-08-05

WASHINGTON, Aug. AIN this dis
course DR.. Talmage corrects some of
the false notions about religion and
represents it as being joy inspiring in
stead of dOlorous; text, II Chronicles
TX, o, ''Of spices great abundance; nei-
Their was there any such spice as the
queen of Sheba gave King Solomon"
What is that building out yonder,
glittering in the sun? Have you not
heard? 1t is the house of the forest of
Lebanon. King Solomon has just tax
en- to it his bride, the princess of
Egypt. You see the pillars of the por-
4icO and n great tower, adorned with
1000 shields of gold, hung on the out
side of the tower, 800 of the shields of
gold manufactured at Solomon's order;
800 were captured by David, his ia
fler, in battle. See how they blaze in
the monday sun.
Solomon goes up the ivory stairs of
his throne, between - lions in statu-
airy, and sits down on the back Of the
golden bull, the head of the huge beast
turned toward the people. The fam
lily and the attendants of the king are
so many that the caterers of the palace
have to provide every day 100 sheep
and Is oxen. besides the birds and the
VenisOn. hear the stamping and paw
ing of 1000 fine horses in the royal sta
bles. There were important officials
who had charge of the work of gather
ing the straw and the barley for these
horses King Solomon was an early
riser, tradition says, and used to take
a ride out at daybreak, and when in his
white apparel, behind the sWiftest
horses of all the realm and followed by
mounted archers in purple as the cav
alcade dashed through the streets of
Jerusalem l suppose it was something
worth getting up at 5 o'clock in the
morning to look at.
Solomon was not like some of the
kings of the present day-croWned i'm
becility. All the splendors OF his pal
ace and retinue were eclipSed by his
intellectual power. Why, he seemed to
know everything. He was the first
great naturalist the world ever saw.
Peacocks from India strutted the ba-
saltic walk. and apes chartered in the
trees, and deer stalkcd the parks, and
there were aQUariums with foreign fish
and aviaries with foreign birds, and
tradition says these birds were so well
tanned that Solomon might walk clear
across the city under the shadow Of
their wings as they lowered and fitted
about him.
SoIOmon's Wisdom.
More than this, he had a great repu-
tation for the conundrums and riddles
that he made and guessed. He and
King Hiram, his neighbor. used to sit
by the hour and ask riddles. each one
paying in money if he could not an
sWer or guess the riddle. The Solomon
&c navy visited all the world, and the |
sailors, Of course, talked about the |
wealth of their king and about the rid |
dies and enigmas that he made and |
solved, and the news spread until |
Queen Balbis, away OFF south, heard of |
it and sent meSSeng gers with a few rid |
dies that she would like to have Solo |
mon solve and q few puzzles that she |
would like to have him find out She |
sent, among other things, to King Sci |
ONION 4 diamond with q hole SO small |
that Il needle could not penetrate it, !
asking him to thread that diamond. |
And Solomon took worm and put it |
at the opening n the diamond, and the |
worm crawled through. leaving the |
thread i'll the diamond. The queen |
also sent u goblet to Solomon, asking |
him to fill it with water that did not |
pour from the sky and that did not |
rush out from the earth, and immedi- |
ately Solomon put a slave on the back |
of a swift horse and galloped him |
around and around the park until the
horse was nigh exhausted. and from
the perspiration of the horse the COB
let was filed. She also sent to King
Solomon 500 boys in girls dress and
800 girls in boys dress, wondering if
he would Ice acute enough to find out
the deception. Immediately Solomon,
when he saw them wash their faces,
knew from the way they applied the
water that it was all a cheat.
Queen Balkis was so pleased with the
acuteness CT Solomon that she said, |
'I'Il just go and see him for myself"
Yonder it cOmes-the Observation-Disclosures !
and dromedaries. chariots and chariot
GERS. jingIing harness and Gathering |
hOofs and blazing shields and flying en- |
signs and clapping cymbals. The place |
is saturated with the perfume. She |
brings cinnamon and saffron and Gala
mus and frankircense and all manner |
Of sweet spices. As the retinue sweeps |
through the gate the armed guard in |
hales the aroma. "Halt.' cry the char
ioteers as the wheels grind the gravel |
in front of the piIlared portico of the |
king. Queen Balkis alights in an at
mosphere bewitched with perfume. AS |
the dromedaries are driven up to the
kings stOrehOuseS and the bundles Of
camphor are unloaded and the sacks of !
cinnamon and the boxes Of spices are /
opened the purveyors Of the palace dis
cover what my text announces: "Of |