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


Ing on for nearly a week. 1t reached
Its great climax on the night before
King Ahasuerus and 'he governors and
the princes were TO separate. The
chamberlains We're there. Louder and
louder played the music; more and
more hilarious became the sport. Now
II was an overturned decanter: again
It was fallen lord. tumbllng upon the
floor In his drunken stupor. The court
iers were drunk; the king was drunk
And on the seventh day, when the
heart OF the king was merry"-whnt
happened9 The king turns to his
fawning. cringing guests and SAYS:
Now. gentlemen, l will show sight
the like Of which you have never seen
in the past and you will never see
again. / will compel my beautiful
queen. Vashti. TO come into this ban
Quet hall and unveil herself before Won
inebriated men. will compel NV
queen TO obey me because am her
master. Ho. chamberlain, Go forth
and bring Vashti to me and let her re-
veal her beauty before these drunken
brutes." The messengers FASTENED
away. They went to the queens apart
ments and carried the kings COM
mands. Then what happened? The
outraged queen drew herself TO her
full height. Her cheeks flushed. her
eyes glittered with excitement. her
hands convulslvely clutched as she
said: go back to your royal master.
Tell him / will not come My honor
is more sacred to me than my throne. -
When she spake thus she knew in all
probability she was signing her own
death warrant. Because she refused
to come Vashti lost her throne. She
was exiled In perpetual disgrace. Yet
these were the tyrRnnical laws which
held women In perpetual degradation
that Queen Esther was ready to defy
when she went TO plead with the king
Tor her Hebrew people. No wonder
when she made her noble resolution
that she should have said. 80 will I
go in unto the king. which is not ac-
cording TO the law, and II perish 7
perish"
Women sitting before me today. are
you as brave as Queen Esther2 Wives
and mothers and daughters. are you
ready to be something more than n
plaything, a human puppet for man 2
Are you ready to brave the social laws
which would limit your sphere to the
frivolities OF life OF ease and pleas
uref You should truly be moral lead
ers, moral teachers and noble compan.
Ions OF man. AS Queen Esther was
ready to take a share In the response
bilities OF her husband, a wife should
be positive quality in the moral
world. not n negative one. An old
English author once wrote: "a good
wife should be like three things in
some ways. but in others she should
not be like. First. she should be like n
snail. to Keep within her own house.
but she should not be like the snail to
carry all she has upon her back; Sec
ondly. she should be like an echo. TO
speak when spoken to, but should not
be Ike an echo always TO have the last
word: thirdly. she should be like a
town clock, always TO keep time and
regularity, bot she should not. like n
town clock, speak so loud that all the
town may hear her" ] do not agree
with that old English writer Mt all. I
do not believe n woman should be "an
echo and only speak when spoken to-"
She should be like Queen Esther. She
should cease TO be the plaything OF
man. She should cease TO be the hu-
morer OF masculine whlms. She should
nobly and fearlessly take her position
by her husbands side and help him to
solve the great problems OF life. She
&ould do this even IL she has TO say
as did the noble queen OF my text.
and II perish. perish"
Like Arria of Rome.
We follow with enthusiasm the cour.
ageous resolution OF this brave wo.
man. But our wonder becomes more
and more pronounced as we realize
that Queen Esther was ready TO Law
down her throne and her life. not for
prince or a princess. not for one of
her daily companions in the royal pal
ace. but for a despised race. She was
almost identically IN the position of
the brave Roman lady. ARIA by name.
whose husband, Octavia Paetus. was
convicted of one OF the most heinous
Of all crimes, treason. He was not
u
findings OF the court declared that he
must die the death OF a suicide. Fear
ing to take his own life. his wife, who
stood by his side IN the courtroom.
picked up n dagger and plunged IL
INTO her own heart. Then as she was
about TO tOtter and fall she handed
This dagger 10 her husband. saving.
'Paetus. IL does not hurt. Hurry. BE
quick and die with me-" ARIA was
willing to die for her disgraced hus-
band Queen Esther was ready to Law
DOWN her life for the Hebrew people. n
collection OF desplsed captives.
She was ready to do In the capital OF
what that greatest of all hui
nan leaders, Moses, who was called
he son OF Pharaoh's daughter. had
been ready to do I'm the Egyptian can't
-al-to die. She was ready to do in
what David Livingstone had
been ready TO do In Africa, and Hud.
son Taylor in China. and John Patton
n the New Hebrides. and as Judson
ana Brainard and John Elliott and
Sather Marquette aud Father Damien
we're ready to do for the despised peo.
'ies 10 whom they mlnistered. She was
'eady to do as the hosts OF Christian
martyrs did In the times OF the Roman
prosecutions. She was ready to do as
ne salvation Army girls are doing
Town In the slums OF a great city. She
was ready to give up her life for those
VINO are despised and downtroddep
IND helpless, as you and / should he
willing to try to lift the fallen ones up
tut or sin. up out OF ignorance, ND out
u superstition. up out of moral. mental |
nj physical filth. God help us to be |
Ike Queen Esther.and to be ready. IN |
ne name OF Christ. to surrender our
ives Tor despised, dOwntrodden and
inful race.
The Honor OF wife.
But as follow the noble resolution
= .nis brave woman / am struck with
mother overwhelming fact. Queen Es.
ner was willing IN daft oil a. -,