Milford chronicle., 1906-03-02


as a conqueror. while all the capital OF
Berlin was ready to give him the vel
come Of triumphal entry, he again lert
the ranks and went to that same tomb
and knelt to thank God that her dis
grace had been avenged So with
Ruth. She never forgot those who had
been true to her. Naomi might be de
spised by the world, but Naomi had
been her friend. And because Naomi
had been true to her Ruth would never
leave her side.
A Crisis In Ruth's Life.
Can you picture this beautiful young
girl mt This critical moment? The
mother-in-law comes to her and says:
Ruth. my dear. l must go away. l
cannot make a living here. My nus
band is dead. My two boys are dead.
/ And all these people are preiudiced
Iaglmst me because I am a foreigner
and not of their blood You stay, my
child. Your parents viii take you
home and all viii be well. Don't ruin
your life for my sake Then 1 be-
ilieve I read the thoughts that rapidly
pass through Ruth's brain. At first
She soliloQuizes, "Shall l stay| But
the noble part Of her soul says: ''Nay
Naomi has been a mother to me- Tor
over score of years she put her whole
life into the developing of her two
boys Then she gave to me one of her
SONS. She said: Take him, Ruth. He
is thine Then she took me into her
great loving heart as her own daugh-
ter. All that she had was mine. And
now. after she has given to me her all,
shall desert her in the dark hours of
distress?" Nay, Naomi" she says, Il
will not turn my back upon thee.
Whittier thou goest. 1 will 90, and
where thou lodgest. l will lodge; thy
people shall be my people, and thy God
my God" Could Ruth the true, Ruth
the noble, speak otherwise? My
friends. have you these noble charac-
teristics of gratitude? After a per
son has been true and self sacrificing
for you after that person has given to
you practically the whole of her life,
are you going to turn that person adrift
as soon as the dark clouds of adversely
gather about her head? Are you go
ing to use the word Friendship" as a
synonym for "convenienceY AS soon
as YOU think it is for your own best
interests, are you going to turn your
back upon your true friends, as the de-
ceitful Duke of Alva sent Admiral
Hoorn and Egmont to the block and as
Napoleon 1. exiled Josephine, the best
friend he ever had?
Oh, the contemplate actions of which
some of us are guilty toward those who
have blessed us in the past! The story
is told that many years ago in the is
land of Mauritius a poor old black wo-
man, who was a slave, worked and
struggled at odd hours and saved until
after awhile she got together enough
money to purchase the freedom of her
daughter. All, that was a happy day
for tie old black woman! She went to
her chld's house with the good news
and said: My child, you are free! You
are freew With that she seated her
self by her daughter. But the story
goes that the daughter drew herself up
and said: "WOman, how dare you sit
in my presence? Do you not know that
l am now a free woman and you are
still slave? Rise at once and leave the
roomg' The story at first seemed to
me to be a farfetched one, and yet,
after much consideration, I doubt if it
is. Almost every day we can see I'M
grateful children acting thus TO their
parents and ungrateful men and wom-
en- turning their backs upon those who
have lifted them to their thrones or
started them on the road to success
and happiness. Not thus was Ruth.
In Naomi's adversely she remembered
Naomrs past love- May God help US
to be true to those who have been true
to us in the troublesome years that are
gonei
True to Marriage Vows.
Ruth measures up to the full stand
ard of the test of human gratitude.
She does more. She measures up to
the full test of her marriage vows.
And when / speak thus l am placing
that standard very high, The marriage
law Of the east is a far more difficult
one to which to do justice than the
marriage law of the west. Yet she
pbeyed those eastern laws to the last
letter. Let me try to contrast those
two laws for you.
When a young woman stands beIore
the marriage altar Of our land and the
Episcopal rector says: 'Wilt thou have
this man to be thy welded husband, to
live together after Gods ordinance in
the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt
thou obey him and serve him. love,
honor ana keep him in sickness ard IN
health and. forsaking all others, keep
thee only unto him so long as ye
both shall live?" the woman answers,
"I will" But that promise does not
mean the woman shall lose her own
identity in that Of her husband as it
does in the east. That does not mean
that her mother-in-law and her hus-
bands family, in her affections, must