Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-06-07

wool and fax and worlSeth diligently
with her hands" This means that the
queen and her women made the gar
ments that her husband wore TO battle
and 10 his kingly receptions. And she
was not the only royal parsonage who
boosted that the women who wore the
royal purple were the same women
who wove their royal garments. Alex
ander the Great never put coat about
his shoulders that was not made by
his own mother. With pride he showed
the Persian princes who came TO visit
his court the many beautiful robes
which were the results of the skill of
Olympias, who was the daughter of n
chieftain, the wife OF sovereign and
the mother of conqueror. When the
Egyptian queen desired to make a
present TO the Spartan princess Helen,
on whose account the Trojan war was
waged, she sent to her piece of her
own embroidery. All. do not tell me
that the spider that is a strand maker.
n spinner. n weaver. has not a royal
occupation. If the queens and prin-
ceSSes OF old. with all the wealth of
the royal palaces, thought il not be-
meath their dignity to work with their
fingers for their loved ones, surely it
Is as royal an occupation for the wives
and mothers and daughters and sisters
of today to care for the temporal
wants of their dear ones in the modern
homes
l wish that the royal occupations of
Queen Olympias might be in vogue
among our women of today. 1 would
that the needle might continue to be
one of the scepters of female influence.
because it is the type of female in
dustry, like the spinning wheel and the
ancient distaff and spindle. would
that the wives and the mothers and the
daughters of our present generation
might not feel that their intellectual
advancement raises them above the
duty Of looking after the temporal wei
fare of their homes. Our picture gal
leries and popular books contain nor
traits OF women in gorgeous attire. but
l think that If we had an artist TO
paint the portrait that is dearest to our
memory we would not ask him to find
the most flaring colors he had. but to
paint the quiet. dull dress that was
worn in our nurseries in which mother
used to put us to bed. We can see her
now as she sat by table on which
was placed lamp. In her hand would
be needle and n darning gourd and n
stocking with big hole in ii. BY our
mothers side would be big pile OF
clothes which she was mending, and
as we would look at that familiar pic
ture we would say: Eyes, she was al
ways sewing for us. She was ALWAYS
working for u.s. She was always liy-
Ing for us" May God continue to make
our wives and our daughters like our
mothers and grandmothers of old.
queens OF the home, with the royal
scepter OF a needle.
An Example of Industry.
But the spiders are more than mere
weavers. They not only set the exam
pie of industry to man and woman and
child, but they are to be recorded
among the greatest benefactors of the
human race. They are the greatest of
all destroyers of insect life. They are
the mortal foe of the fly, the locust
and the grasshopper. II 1t were not
fer the destroying work of the spider
In all probability most OF the labors of
the farmer and the husbandman would
go for naught. Then the plaques OF
Egypt would be here. The locusts and
the grasshoppers would literally de-
stroy all the crops. The work of check
ing or keeping down the dangerous in
crease OF insect life by the spider Is
simply Infinite In its Importance.
During the darkest days OF Robert
Bruce's life, after the king of Scotland
had been defeated in five different
battles and deserted by all his follow
ers and while he himself was n rugI-
tive chased by the English soldiers. he
lay down one night to sleep in little
cave. You all remember the legendary
story as printed in your childhood
primer. During the night 10y the camp
fires light the noblest of all Scotch
men watched n little spider spin his
web over the mouth OF that cave.
When morning came pursuing squad
or English soldiers passed that way.
They were hunting for the fugitive
King. When one of the soldiers came
up 10 the entrance of that cave and
was about to enter another soldier
called: NO need OF going In there.
Don't you see n spider has spun his
web over the entrance to that cave?
No man would 40 in there without
breaking IT, down" Thus Robert
Bruce's life was saved by a spiders
web. But 1 want TO tell you that the
spider Is Just as much the savior and
protector OF man today as he was sup
posed to he in times OF old in Scottish
history. Over every tree branch, in
every flower garden. about every field
or grass and crop of wheat. the spiders
every night and day are spinning their
protecting webs. There they say to
the insect hordes which are trying to
destroy them: ''Stay out or / will sIay
you. Stay out! God has sent me to
protect the grass and protect the crops
and protect the flowers. Stay out! I
am GODS sentinel and mans guardian.
Stay out! Stay out! Stay outr'
A Net For Insects.
A spiders web is nothing more or
less than net set to catch the flies
and the iocusts and the grasshoppers,
as the fisherman by the use of another |
Kind or net Is able to bring his food |
TO land. These spiders nests are con- |
structed In the air. An insect starts
10 ny or jump. The wing or leg of this |
insect touches one OF the threads of |
the web, which has an adhesive Quail |
lily. Immediately that wing or leg. by |
being Jerked or pulled. brings Other |
threads OF the web into touch with |
other parts OF the body. Similarly a |
human being sinks deeper and deeper
into the nuickSands with arar, frantic