River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-05-19

tions, Salome reported the matter
at once, inquiring of the mother
what gifts she should request. We
can better imagine than describe
the surprise of the girl when told by
the mother to request "tne head of
John the Baptist on platter" We
| may conceive what a disappoint-
lnent this would mean; what visions
of the beautiful and precious things
it would destroy!-with what sur
prise Salome must have asked as to
why this gruesome gift should be
given. We cap imagine the mother
kissing to her that the death of
John the Baptist was the most nee
essary thing in the world for them
both-that without it any day might
see them hurled from conditions of
af1uence into the abyss of degrade
ton and poverty. We can imagine
her saying, This, Salome, is the
priceless gift which you must ask
from the King" And the power of
the woman over both the King and
the daughter was wonderfully ex-
emplified in the result. Salome
went gaily again amongst the COM
pany of mobiles whom she had
charmed, and in a loud voice &C
copied the Kings offer of whatever
she would choose, even to the half
of his Kingdom and stated that &C.
cordingly, 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 we'll as his subservien-
cy to Herodias controlled him. He
reasoned that for King to give his
word of honor in the hearing of
mobiles and princes and then to re-
pudiate it, would be to him last
ing shame. All, what an illustra-
ton Of how 1.-The fear of man bring
eth a snare!" What lesson we
read in this!-that mans first re-
sponsibility is to his God and to his
conscience, whatever the cost. Ira
dition has it that Herod was haunt
ed with fear the remainder of his
days. 1t is in line with this that
when he 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 were strong
characters, the one for the right and
for God, the other for selfish ambi-
ton and sinful indulgence of it.
The one swayed his nation for their
good and prepared the worthy rem
nant to receive Messiah's message.
The other swayed the King and her
daughter to infamy, murder and
disgrace, and terribly blackened
her own character. Johns reward
lies in the future, when he, as
member of the Ancient Worthy
class, will come forth to better
resurrection" to be associated
with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and
all the prophets in the earthly phase
of the Millennial Kingdom.
Herodias, surely continuously un-
happy, finally persuaded the King
to course which led to his Danish
ment, in which she shared. Her
future, according to the Bible, will
be a resurrection to shame and last
ing contempt. Daniel 1922. In
asmuch as she degraded herself and
missed grand opportunities, we may
assuredly know that she will come
forth In the Millennium greatly
handicapped by her m prop e +
course in the present life. 1t may
take centuries, even under the ia
vorable conditions of Christ's King
dom, for such a deeply-dyed char
acter 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.