Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-10-06

seen by man. No sooner does a man
enter street where the women are
than the cry is raised. The men. the
menF' And every woman rushes in
doors. fearing the eyes OF man as she
would the fangs OF a deadly cobra. IL
a man not husband or a son dare en-
Ter the women's apartments he Is shot
down or cut into pieces. as though he
were mad dog And yet here I'm licen.
tious Shushan we find King Ahasuerus
demanding that his wife upveil herself
before drunken and debauched men.
Yet II was TO this VIGOROUSLY depraved
monarch that Queen Esther was TO
plead for the salvation OF a doomed
race
Is there no practical application OF
this incident? Yes. II You and are
ever TO accomplish much good In this
world we must work through many
different kinds OF instrumentalities. II
a man is notorious libertine or scoun-
drel. that Is no reason why you and 7
should regard him as wholly out OF
the reach OF effort and beyond recla-
nation. Mr.. Moody started his great
Sunday school in Chicago by bravely
going and asking a dissolute saloon
keeper for his children that be might
teach them OF Jesus. Young Moody
got them. Because a miser hangs on
TO his gold with death grip Is no rea-
son why you and I should not go and
move his heart to use some n mat
gold for mission OF mercy.
Esther's COmmos sense.
Dark and forbidding as were her sur
roundings. there were two or three
bright lines In this oriental. historical
picture which show that though Queen
Esther's dangers might seem to be in.
surmountable. yet In truth they were
not Queen Esther won her mighty
victory for the salvation OF the He.
brew race by the use OF plain, prac.
teal common sense. which in this age
would be called brilliant Christian
stratagem. The queen was not a fool.
She was not one OF those miserable
shrews. always going around with
mussed hair and shoes run down Mt
the heels. with her dresses III fitting
and caught together with pins. She
was not one OF those women who WELD
sharp tongue, prldlng herself upon
the fact that she IL always speaking
the truth, because she is always say.
ing lot OF diSagreeable things. Some
women may be good women. but they
are very coarse and stupid and i'm
polite and repulsive women. There are
women who are good and irreproacha-
BILE In character whose temper Is so
bad and whose tongues are so vitriolic
that some good men would sooner
make pillow out OF porcupine quills
and go to sleep upon a mattress OF
Canada thistles than TO associate with
them. Their tongues may be as bit
ter as gall. Queen Esther never prId-
ed herself upon her sharp tongue. Like
Sarah. the wife OF Abraham, she knew
that ii was no disgrace for woman to
be fair 10 look upon. Thus as woman
or great common sense she tried to do
her work with sweet looks and gentle
words and not with verbal sledge ham.
mer. spear. sword, battering ram and
hurricane
How as n beautiful woman OF great
common sense did Queen Esther win
her brilliant victory? In the first place.
she goes to the king and asks rs an
especial favor that he. with his con-
temptible and dishonorable prime MIN
lister. wicked Hannah by name. would
come and take dinner some night I'm her
royal palace. Though this was against
the law. yet the king consented. Then
methinks l can see this beautiful wo-
man preparing for her plan OF battle.
She puts on her most attractive robes.
She has her hairdresser intwlne her
black locks I'm the way most becoming
TO her dark Hebrew features. She
has the dining room fragrant with
flowers and adorned with the most
beautiful or tapestries. She has the
banquet table laden with the choicest
OF delicacies. And while the guests are
eating and the musicians are playing
this beautiful queen picks up one OF
her strlnged instruments. and softly
the notes are sounded. Then she be-
gins 10 sing an old love song, and the
king, enraptured with her beauty.
looks at her in tender and passionate
affection. She drops her eyes and
with quivering voice and a heaving
breast eloquently tells the story OF
her life and how Haman wanted To
STAY her people. She pavss the way
for. the victory by what we may caiI
today Christian strategy.
When you and / want TO win our VIC
tories for Christ. do we DO as Queen
Esther didf DO we use Christian STRAIT
egy? Do we. to use n vulgar term. try
to rub" people the right wayp Do we
go to them tenderly. lovingly. gently
and yet firmly and try to lead them to
Christ. as Queen Esther paved the way
In an oriental banquet hall for the res
cue OF her people?
Faith in God.
But, though Queen Gather went into
this battle for her people determined
TO use Christian stratagem, yet this.
after all. was only the secondary part
or her strength. Her great strength
came from the fact that she, frst and
last and all the time. was depending
upon the God or Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. the God OF her people This
beautiful queen had been brought up
In religions atmosphere. Her foster
rather. Mordecai, was o devout wor-
Ch ~