Evening journal., 1910-05-21

Salome reported the matter at once.
mQuring of her mother what gifts she
should request We can better imagine
than describe the surprise of the girl
when told by the mother to request
"the head of John the Baptist on
platter We may conceive what
disappointment this would mean; what
visions of the beautiful and precious
things it would destroy with what
surprise Salome must have asked as to
why this gruesome gift should be given.
We can imagine the mother kissing to
her that the death of John the Baptist
was the most necessary thing i'm the
world for them both-that without il
any day might see them hurled from
conditions of afluence into the abyss
of degradation and poverty We can
/ imagine her saying "Ths Salome is
the priceless gift which you must ask
from the King And the power of
tho woman over both the King and the
daughter was wonderfully exemplihed
i'm the result. Salome went gaily again
amongst the company of mobiles whom
she had charmed. and i'm a loud voice
accepted the Kings offer of whatever
she would choose, even to the half of
AiA' tAAiArrNNilAl tAN'A NtfNNNh AAltAA
ingly, the Gift should be the head of
the Prophet ON platter.
The Kings conscience was not quite
| dead He was grieved; but his pride
as well as his subscrviency to- Herodias
! controlled him He reasoned that for
n King to give his word of honor ln
the hearing of mobiles and princes and
then TO repudiate il. would be to him
lasting shame All. what an illus
tration of how "the fear of man bring
eth snarei" What lesson we read
i'm thisl-tha a mans first responsible
ity is to his God and to his conscience
whatever the cost. Tradition has it
that Herod was haunted with fear the
remainder of his days. 1t is i'm line
with this that when ne heard Of Jesus
and his mighty works, he expressed
the conviction that somehow. the spirit
or power Of John had passed to Jesus
Our lesson brings before us two strong
and two weak characters John and
Herodias We're strong characters, the
one for the right and for God. the other
| for selfish ambition and sinful indulg-
ence of it. The one swayed his nation
/ for their good and prepared the worthy
remnant 10 receive Messiah's message.
The other swayed the King and her
daughter to infamy. murder and dis
| grace. and terribly blackened her own
character. Johns reward lies in the
/ future, when he, as a meiber of the
/ Ancient Worthy class. win come forth
/ to a better resurrection"-to be as
| ISOLATED with Abraham, Isaac and
/ Jacob and an the prophets in the earth
! ~ phase of the Millennial Kingdom.
Herodias. surely continuously un-
/ happy, finally persuaded the King TO a
course which led to his hanishment, in
which she shared. Her future. accord
ing To the Bible. viii be a resurrection
TO shame and lasting contempt. Daniel
1921. Inasmuch as she degraded her
self and missed grand opportunities.
we may assuredly know that she will
come forth in the Millennium greatly
handicapped by her improper course in
the present life 1t may take CEN
turtles, even under the favorable condi-
tions of Christ's Kingdom. for such a
deeply-dyed character to purge itself
of the shame and the lasting contempt
and to rise gradually to true nobility
and human perfection. or. failing so to
do, to die the Second Death.