Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1912-08-01
SATURDAY NIGHT
SERMONS
s. REvSAMUEL
9 WpURvISDD
GODS DAUGnrER-THE OLD MAID.

what would be done to him."-Ex. Ii, 4
What quick witted little prophecies
Miiiaia was. Anram and Jochabed
must trust their baby. Moses. to the
mercy Of the Nile There where the
waters are still the mother places the
ark Of buirushes among the reeds If
he ~ deyoused by crocodile 1t will be
no more bhaA;y thnn the short sword
of pharaoiis soldiers Then this first
"littlc mother OF sacred record takes
her post to watch over the welfare Of
been many. md the years have been
long. but the earth records OF God are
crowded with the deeds Of older sis.
tiers. who hnyp saved younger brothers
to become famous In the world while
they have stood Afar off, Princess
Thcrmntis with her retinue Of maids
comes for Iper morning ablutions to the
sacred river. A baby's cry. chubby
arms extended. and a princess heart
Is won. But who nurse such frail
bit Of humanity? Miriam steps for
ward She shrewdly suggests wo-
man of her own ruce The princess
approves and bids her fetch the wo-
man Miriam brings her own mother
the child's own mother! BY one
stroke of precocious juvenile genius
she preserves the nationality as well
as the life of Moses-the only decep-
ton In the Bible Of which | thoroughly
approve The curtain falls for many
/ 10 nj xryo v,lo
ond violin In the family music The
years have come and gone The bright
eyed little girl watcher of the Nile Is
now gray haired and old. What story
full of pathos and tragedy. notes Of
love and hope and sorrow may be
wrapped In those silent years we do
not know. only that she ia left without
mate and flock Of her own. Moses has
led out 100000 Hebrews It is his day
of triumph: he will be numbered with
the famous sons of God in the worlds
hail Of fame Out from the shadows
steps Gods daughter. this unmarried
sister, gloryine not In her own, but her
brothers triumph.
The little Mother"
Who will write the adequate biogra-
| ply of her who throws away her
beauty and charm and freshness to
stand by the home with its brood of
younger brothers and sisters? Full
many lawgiyer and hero and saint
owe their Indebtedness to this faith
full, watchful sister Out from city
street and country lane. from the
banks of the Merrimac and the Hud-
son and the Delaware and the Missis-
sippi and the Columbia and all the
other river Niles of the United States
go forth an army of doctors and law
yers and ministers and merchants
who owe their success to an "old
maid" sister who has watched them
from the banks Of her self denial
know a girl who by her mothers
deathbed promised to be loyal to the
little group Of children younger than
herself. This brave. quiet, brown
eyed grille took charge Of the home.
washed and sewed, scrubbed and
mended by day and by night studied
and secured a teachers certificate,
then by day taught In schoolroom
and by night washed and scrubbed,
sewed and mended and on Sunday
taught a class of boys. every one a
| personal idol worshiper. A town
watched this little mother with amaze
ment and admiration. Then came a
preacher. tall and handsome and tai
ented. to burn candles and wave In
cense at her fame. but the promise to
a dying mother prevented any other
mother. The years might go by and
bring no other Prince Fairy with visit
full eye. but. "Oh. ! cannot: I prom
| ised mother to stand by the children"
BY the light Of the tall taper stars
the angels Of God surely write some
records In gold.
"The Old Maid"
Among the buds and blossoms of the
garden of girls grows the unmarried
sister Others Haunt their ribbons of
fame and sashes Of living green; she
stands aside, quiet and subdued and
demure as Shakeress. Her heart may
be the tomb Of a lost love. the sacred
burial place Of thousand affections.
Her past is dead. She would not re-
store it. but she treasures souvenirs of
ita faded ribbon. withered spray Of
heliotrope. branch of red berried bit
ter sweet over portrait. Like the
rover in boat. she sees only slowly
receding headlands. sweet dreamland
faces Of the past. while ever present
Is self sacrifice and the voice Of other
needs than her own. who's that plain
looking girl with the big Sunday school
ciass?" said a visiting minister one
day. "Oh. that's Mary Smith. hadn't
thought of her as being plain, but may
be she is. now that I come to look
closely. But say. couldn't run this
church without her. She's a jewel
Father was killed when she was six
teen. mothers been semi-invalid
since: that was fourteen years ago
yes. Mary's thirty When other girls
we're dancing in the cotillion Mary was
carrying coal up from the cellar. When
other girls were dreaming of orange
u