The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1905-01-06
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED.
THE TRAGEDY or A QUEEN"
The Rev. ". y. shannon Draws . Timely
Lesson From the story of ysshtt-
There Are Few Finer Exhibitions of
Sacrifice In the History OF Won snhood

BROoKLYs, ". Y.-Fcr his Sunday
morning sermon, in Grace NJ. 4. Church,
the pastor, the Rev. Frederick +. Shan
non, had for has theme "The Tragedy OF a
Queen" The text was from Esther ]: :ll-l2:
Bring VashtI the queen before the king
with the crown royal, 10 show the people
and the princes her beauty: for she was
far TO look on. But the Queen Vashti
refused 20 come at the kings command
meDt by his chamberlains." Mr.. Shannon
said:
The Ahasuerus Of the book Of Esther is
the Xerzes Of profane history. BY com
mon consent OF historians he was one OF
the most powerful mOnarchs that ever
lived. The pages Of Herodotus are filled
with his exploits, and Grote and Rollin,
also, dwell upon his power and achieve
ment an an interesting manner. But has
tawdry greatness Is worth while only az 10
serves % ret forth the heroism Of Vashti.
Already the centuries have tarnished the
brilliance Of his court, but not the beauty
OF his queen. Shushan, the palace, exists
only in name. The hundred and four
score days during which he showed the
riches Of hIs glorious kingdom and the
honor Of his excellent majesty are less
than a shadow on the dial. The white,
green and blue hanging, tied with cords
Of purple and fine linen 20 silver rngs IN
pillars Of marble perished long ego. The
gold and silver bedS, which sat upon a
pavement Of red and blue and white and
black marble, have had no occupants for
more than 24CO years The golden vessels,
from which princes quafied the royal WINE,
are all one with the golden sand grains Of
the desert. Time ~ no Tespecter OF per-
Eons. III 10 burles the common things IN
Oblivion, that shadow OF darkness" II
does not forget TO pluck the spanges from
the robes Of kings, tossing them into. the
night also. But time cannot dull the beau
.l GasTl mot "a
the fame of a white hfe. Time cannot
stain the snow OF a pure heart. And that
~ why Queen NashtI and the tragedy Of
her life forever hold our admiration and
our tears.
Perhaps we shall be more capable OF
measuring the unfortunate queen by glanc-
ing at the monarch she opposed. Ahasue
rus possessed the almost unlimited power
of an Oriental despot. HE Will was su-
preme IN everything. We find HIM here
giving a feast 20 his lords and princes
Having conceived the idea Of making war
on Greece. this feast 90 his subjects is a
step looking TO that end. Whatever he
undertook usually came 90 pass. He could
dig canal through the Isthmus OF Mount
Athos. lie could build a bridge OF ships
across the Hellespont. lie could scourge
the sea for ITS tempestuousness. lie could
bedeck the branches OF tree with Jewery
as a reward for ats frultfulness. He could
raise an army OF more than 100000 men.
He could even shed tears when he re-
flected that IN less than a century not one
of these men would survive. But we have
IN our text one thing this monarch could
not do. lie could not compel "A helpless
woman TO permit him and his drunken
courters 20 make a toy OF her beauty. He
could not drag a high-souled queen down
from the pedestal of her stainless purltvl
Consider IN the first place. that tho life
NJ .fA "a Ia ba act nal
have furnished the actors in some of the
darkest deepest tragedies IN history
When Shakespeare wanted material from
which TO create his immortal dramas, with
unerring vision the / .ghty master began
to probe the life history OF kings and
queens. From their laughter and tears,
from their splendor and shame, from their
rise and fall, he wove a literary 'apestry
which Is the growing wonder of men. In
deed, as we watch Shakespeare move hls
royal players over his mental chess board,
we have 20 exelaim. with Aeschylus, What
n shadow OF a shade Is human royalty"
Rising IN brilliance, these royal stars set
IN darkness: and, usually, their darkness
IL made more terrible by the Ominous
Hastings of red hghtnings OF remorse.
After palace and Its occupants have
passed under Shakspeares pen, this ls
the conclusion of the whole matter:
Thrones are painted bubbles, and kings
and queens are bubble chasers! This Is
not saying there are no good kings and
queens because there are. IL is. rather,
emphasizing the fact that the happiest
people are those who are fortunate enough
not to have been born under the star OF
royalty.
We all know how the historian loves TO
dwell upon the character of Cleopatra. Be
yond question, she was one of the most
captivating women of paganlsm. Tescend,
ed from long line of kings, royal blood
flowed In her veins. beauty adorned her
person and hrillance spaIkled in her
brain. When Nature called for an Egyp-
tian queen, this fascinating Greek princess
was the answer At fourteen she was an
accomplished lnguist, a student OF history
and skilled musician. AT nineteen she
conquered that Caesar who had conquered
the world. Forty-six years before the
Christian era she accompanied him TO
Rome. where she lived in pomp and lux.
ury until Caesars assassination when she
returned TO Egypt She met Mark Antony
at twenty eight-"a period of life, accord
ing to Plutarch. "when woman's beauty rs
most splendid and her intellect is IN full
maturity" Antony summoned her 20 APP
pear before him in Cilicia. charged with
having assisted Cassius before the battle
of philippi Upon this imperiods sum
mons hung the destiny of that gifted Ro-
man, and he knew It not. You know
how she answered the summons-not as a
craven Culprit, but as the peerless queen
of the south. As she went up the Cydnus
in her royal barge, the like of which was
never behe,d before or since, the scene
cnthralled the fancy of both plutarch and
Shakespeare. lie who could make words
say what no other man could, had to ron.
iess For her own person, 1T beggared all
description Like n FURNISHED throne
her barge burned on the water; the poop
was beaten gold: the purple sails were so
perfumed that the winds were love-sick
with them; the silver oars kept stroke TO
the tune of flutes; she was couched in n
gold pavilion like Nenus, where we see
the fancy outwork nature" dimpled boys,
like smiling Cupids, were standing on
each side tanning her; gentlcwomcn, like
Mercedes. tended her. When she arrived
nj the city the people rushed out TO see
her, leaving Antony alone IN the market
place.
Like the incompatible Julius. she came.
she saw, she conquered Antony was
dazzled, bewitChcd. cnslaved by THE siren
queen. Ever atterward. with the possible
exception OF three years. he was her slave.
Not satisfied with lavishng silver and
gold and precious stones and silks and
works Of art upon her. he threw whole
kingdoms at her feet. as If thew were 50
many Roman forget etme-nots. He was as
helpless in her power as a bird under the
hypnotic spell of snake. All the world
knows how. at a critical moment In the
battle of Actium, Cleopatra, for some
unknown reason. was seen leaving with
her vessels for Egypt. This was n signal
for Antony to abandon the battle and
follow his sorcercss. For strength. she
gave him weakness. For iniatuatou. she
gave him deceit Forthe sweets Of love she
gave him the c,.gs of scorpions. For Idol
as he, he tss,Ff q,