.   i








La












WIN,~~   ~'"~l~    -I




ffq'vt&tif a  j om,1to
FROM
EVE, -HE   WIFE  OF  THE  FIRST,
TO
MARY, THE MOTHER OF THE SECOND ADAM,
BY
GEO. (o BALDWIN, D.D.
I t has often seemed to the writer, that no greater service could be done
t;o a large class of the commnunity than to reproduce the Sacred Narrative,
tinder the aspects which it presents to an imaginative mind, with the applirunces of geographieal, historical, and critical knowledge.' —tlrs.  Ita7zr'iet
3ccchec Stowe.
NEW-YORK:
SHELDON, LAMPORT & BLAKEMAN.
1856.




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
G EOR GE C. BALDWIN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for
the Northern District of New York.
JOHN J. REEDI
STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER,
16 Spruce Street, N. Y.




TO
AND
TO ALL THOSE WHO APPRECIATE HER TRUE POSITION
AND
WORLD-WIDE INFLUENCE,
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.








P R E F A C E.
TROY, N. Y., Feb. 10, 1855.
REV. G. C. BALDWIN, D.D.
Dear Sir.' The undersigned, who constitute the boards
of Deacons and of Trustees in the Church and Society
over which you are Pastor, having listened with pleasure
and profit to your Lectures on Scripture Female Characters, and believing, that on account of the Biblical, Historical, and Practical instruction they embody, they are adapted to be extensively and permanently useful, —therefore,
earnestly advise their publication in book-form.
Respectfully and affectionately your friends,
JOSEPH HASTINGS,  JUSTUS E. GREGORY,    GEO. R. DAVIS,
ABRAHAM NUMAN,   CALVIN WARNER          JAMES WAGER,
JCURTIS WILBUR,   FRANCIS WARRINER,     GEO. H, PHILIPS,
JOHN B. FORD,     JAMES R. PRENTICE,     S. S. SARGEANT,
F. A. FALES,.
Gentlemen:
Confiding more in your judgment than in my own, I have
resolved to publish the Lectures, to which you allude in
such kind terms.  It may be well to accompany them with
the following prefatory remarks.
1. As to their title.  It was the English Carlyle, I believe, who first employed the phrase  " Representative




Vi1l                   PREFACE
Mlen," which our American Emerson has made the title of
one of his best books.  It occurred to me, that if there
were in history, men who stand forth, not merely as representatives of ideas, but of classes of their fellow-men, it
might be found that in the Bible record, there were women who could be appropriately viewed, not merely as historic personages, but as representatives of classes of their
sex.  With this thought before me, I have been delighted
beyond expression, in my studies, by finding the full realization of the suggestion referred to. Is not Eve, as we
have considered her, a representative of tempted and fallen
females?  Is not Sarah, of loving and deferential wives?
Rebecca, of managing women?  Jochebed, of faithful and
devoted mothers?  Miriam,  of ancient prophetesses, and
modern women, who never marry?  [Ruth, of young widows and daughters-in-law?  Endor's Witch, of female
spiritualists? Abigail, of that large class of superior women married to inferior men?  Sheba's~ Queen, of wise
women?  Esther, of beauteous womanhood on the throne
of royalty?   Elizabeth, of believiug wives?  And the
blessed Mary, the most highly honored of women;. is she
not a type of maternal tenderness and devotion? In these
facts I have found a justification of the title I have given
my book.
2. Another object, collateral it is true, but important
and desirable, as it has seemed to me, I have kept in view
throughout. It was to present for the edification of youth,
in families, Sabbath Schools, and Bible classes, the connections of Sac-ed History, from Eve, the wife of the first
Adam, down to Mary, the mother of the second Adam.
This I have attempted to do, by selecting one prominent
female of a period, and grouping around her the chief in.




PREFACE.                    ix
cidents of that period.  Thus viewed, the book has a unity,
which it could not possess if it consisted merely of disconnected Lectures.
3. I have taken the liberty of placing a sentence from  Mrs.
Stowe's writings, on the title-page, simply for this purpose-it contains the evidence, that in the view of so accomplished and distinguished a writer —there is a pZld,
for a book of this kind in the necessities of " a large class
of the community."  Whether my work, as far as it goes
in the direction she indicates, will even approximate the
" service" to which she refers, I must leave my readers to
judge.
4, Many of those who heard them, have desired the
publication of these Lectures, in the same popular and
often redundant style of language in which they were delivered.  This, I am aware, is far better for the pulpit,
than that sententiousness, which a severer taste would prefer in a book.  But I commit them to the press substantially as they were spoken, with only such verbal corrections, and filling up as was necessary, in the hope that in
this form they may make up in vivacity what they may
lack in thought.
5. Inasmuch as the gracious Lord was pleased to bless
these Lectures, to the permanent good of many who heard
them, by leading them to study with interest many neglected portions of His sacred Word; inasmuch as the
divine Spirit graciously honored them, as the means IHe
employed to awaken and convert souls; and inasmuch as
their delivery was followed by the most precious and extensive revival of religion which many of us had ever witnessed-I hopefully commend my humble volume to Him,
with the earnest prayer that His blessing may go with it,




PREFACE.
and cause it to be one of those instrumentalities by which,
though feeble in themselves, He is carrying forward His
purposes of grace toward our world.
I am, gentlemen, with sincere affection,
Your pastor and friend,
G. C. BALDWIN.
Troy, July 10, 1855.




EVE,
THE  TEMPTED  AND FALLEN  WOMAN.
THE Primal Earth —New Form of Existence-The First
Woman-Her Personal Appearance-Ideal of ArtistsTitian —Powers-Earth's  First Bridal-MarriageCampbell-Rtobert Hall-The Temptation —The Fall
-Milton-The Banishment-Earth's First FamilyTwo deeply interesting facts in relation to it-The First
Murderer-First Corpse-Agony-Is Eve in Heaven?Lessons Concerning Woman's Relation to Man-Woman's Danger-Woman's Influence.  -               17
SARAH,
THE DEFERENTIAL WIFE.
THREL:Facts Concerning Her —Isaiah-Paul-PeterPoints in Her Biography of Deep Interest-IdolatryChaldean Philosophy-Its IDefect-Sarah's CultureHer Piety-The Transaction with Hagar-New Testa
ment Testimony-Appeal-Domestic Character-History-Her Character as WTife-Mother-Why she sent
away Hagar and Ishmael —Practical Love for Children
-Her Estimate of Personal Beauty-Willis-Earth's
First Funeral-.Poetry         - -,  - - - -  39




Xii   ~        ~CONTENTS.
REBEC~A,
THE MANAGING WOMAN.
FIDELITY a Feature of Bible Biography-Rebecca's Home
in Mesopotamia-Heer Maiden Character and BeautyThe Patriarch's Tent at Gerar-The Messenger-The
Scene at the Well-side-The Message-The ReturnGold  Threads-Faith-Prayer in Exigencies —Life
Crises-Providence-Fermale Politeness to StrangersFlowers-Her Married Life -Black Threads-Partiality in Families-Presumption-Deceit —ManagementThe Successful Plot-The Fearful Results-What a
Pure Woman may Become-Consequences — GiltBeautiful Poem. -                             61
JO OHEBED9
THE  FAITHFUL MOTHER.
EGYPT'S  Mysteries-Darius-Antony —Napoleon-The
Asylum of Jesus-Jewish History-The Bitter Persecution-The Mother's Sagacity in Peril-Power of
Prayer-Divine Purposes-Providence-ThermuthisPower of Tears of Infancy-Poetry —The Blissful
Restoration-A  Panoramic Group-Five Figures-A
Mother's Love-Mrs. Hemans —Alexander-Washington-A Mother's Influence-Her Reward-The Parting
-John Q. Adams-John Randolph of RoanoakePoetry.  - -               -              -  86




C ONTENTS                    Xiii
MIRIAM,
THE  FIRST  PROPHETESS.
INFLUENCE Of Local Associations in the Formation of Character-Egypt's Mysteries —The Interest which Christian
minds feel in Egypt-Miriam's Vigil by the Sacred
River-Her Triumphant Song at the Red Sea-The
History  Continued —The  Plagues-Their Four-fold
Object-A. Critical Development of the Wonderful
Manner in which those Objects were Attained-Miriam's
Sin and its Punishment-What was it?-The Guilt and
Prevalency of it in our own times-Her Death-Daniel
Webster-The Victory over the Last Enemy-Bryant.                     -                     1lo
RUTH,
THE  YOUNG WIDOW.
CONSTITUTIONAL Love of Variety-Nature and the BibleThe Book of Ruth-Voltaire-Singular Incident-The
Judges —A  Family-Emigration-Death —Happiness
— Desolation-The Return —A Country GentlemanJewish Law-Night Scene on the Threshing FloorMlle. DeSombreuil —The Marriage —Joy of Old AgeAstonishing Development of Special Providence-Bethlehem-Its Associations-A Curious Fact-Who Told
the World that Ruth was a Beauty?-Her Unselfishness-Disinterested  Love-Industry-James Russel
Lowell-Piety —Exhortation —Beautiful Scripture. J33




XiV                 CONTENTS.
END OR'S WITCH,
THE  FEMALE  SPIRI-TUALIST.
SPECIAL Attention Requested to this Lecture —The Characters of Samuel, Saul, and the Witch AnalysedTheir Conditions Described-Parallel between Saul
and Macbeth-Did Shakspeare take the History of the
former as a model for the latter?-The Witch SceneA New Interpretation-Poetry-The Battle on GilboaThe Sad Lamentation-Light thrown on a large Class
of what are called Spiritual Manifestations-The Philosophical probability in regard to the Remaining GlassA Parallel Traced-The Witch's Sabbath-Objections
Examined-The Validity of Proof from Consciousness
Tested-Reasons for Opposing " Spiritualism"-The
Boasts of its Advocates Considered, &c. &c.  - -  159
ABIGAI L,
THE SUPERIOR WIFE OF AN INFERIOR HUSBAND.
THE reign of David-Analysis of his Character-Hazlitt's
Slander-A Family Scene-Husband and Wife-Wilderness Scene in Paran —A  Deputation —Threatening Aspects —Another Deputation-Carmel-An Impromptu Address by Abigail —Its high Character —
Effect —Woman's Energy —Her Success-The Unlamented Death-The Lecturer Attains an Object —Why
has Abigail been so Neglected by Readers and Artists?
-Two Pictures-A Wilderness and a HIome SceneWhy did she Marry a " Churl?" —Power of Family and
Money-Hood- Duty Illustrated - Three VisionsAbigail Justified-Advice to Women Similarly Situated
-Woman's Privilege-Woman's True Support. - 200




C ONTEN T                      XS o  V
SH EBA'S QUEEN,
THE WISE WOMAN.
THE Significancy of Little Things-Analagy between Nature and the Bible-Solomon —His Wisdom-Cause of
his Fall —Coleridge-The Localityof this Queen's Throne
-Her Country —Its Extent —Productions —MiltonMoore-Her  Journey-Its  Object —Distance-The
Localities she Passed —Her Reception at JerusalemThe Sources whence she Learned Wisdom-Rer Return
-The Profitableness of this Record-Woman on the
Throne of Empire-Semiramis-Zenobia —ElizabethIsabella —Martha Glar-Volumnia and Virgilia-Why
so few Women are now on Thrones-Her True Kingdom-The Intellectual Character of B alkis-Her Moral
and Religious Character-Popular Female Education —
Dancing-Superior Wisdom —Three Pictures.  -  223
ESTHER,
THE  RESISTLESS PETITIONER.
SIGNIFICANCY Of Jewish names-How came Esther in
Persia-Jewish History from  Solomon to Esther —Panoramic Views-View First, The Palace —Banquet
-Divorce.  View  Second, The Plan —Shushan-An
Orphan Maiden-The Competition.  View TAird, Moltified Pride-The Edict —Triumph.  View Fourthz, De.
solation- Esther's Character Analysed -The Message —.
Wail of Expiring Hope-Success.  View  Sixth —A
Sleepless Night-Haman's Joy- His Overthrow.  View
Seventh-Retributive Justice — Why is the name of God
not found in the book of Esther? —Effects of PrideMeditations, &c. &c.       -     -        -. 249




xvi                  CONTENTS.
ELIZABETH,
THE  BELIEVING  WIFE.
REASONS for Omitting Discussions of the Characters of
many Prominent Females in the Bible-The Chief
Historical Facts, which connect the Old and New Testament Records-Antiochus Epiphanes-Mattathias —
Alexander- Pompey —Marianne-Anna —An  Epoch
of Vast Interest-The Pious Wife-Her Joy in a
Pious Husband-Dr. Jay-A Temple Scene-Gabriel's
Message-Not " Rapped" Out, but Spoken-Unbelief
-Its Punishment-A  Home Scene -Another-And
another Still-A First-born Babe-The Exultant Anthem-Mothers Live in the Lives of their ChildrenNapoleon-What manner of Child shall this be?  Two
Startling Facts. - - -.. -. 277
MARY,
THE  M.OTHER  OF JESUS.
AN Author's Title to His Book-" Thoughts for those
Who Think "'-Nazareth-Its Mountains and Associations-The Personal Appearance of IMary  Romish
Pictures-The Annunciation-The Journey-The Visit
-A Magnificent Anthem-The First Great Trial —
Joseph-An Imperial Edict-The Advent —The Circumcision — Simeon — Anna —-Suetonius —Tacitus —
Philo-Josephus —The Discussion in the Temlple —A
Public Incident-The Calvary Scene-Her Prophetic
Relations-Argutment-Her Relation to the GospelReview of the New Papal Dogma concerning  IerPicture at Milan —Queen Isabella —Six ArgumentsMary's Real Character-Prophecy Fulfilled.  -. 301




e:. "d the oa saie  e  b
Gen. 3 13. " And the woman said-The Serpent beguiled me, and
Idid eat."
THERE muSt have been a first woman:  so our
reason would teach us, had we no Revelation. And
upon this necessity suggested by our reason, light is
thrown only from the Bible; which Robert Hall, in
that fine utterance of his princely intellect said,
contains the "ctrue words of God."  This sacred
volume-hoary with an antiquity of which no other
book can boast-environed and impregnated with
divinity-radiant with the constellated glory of the
entire system of moral and religious truth-like a
divine illuminator, throws light, not only on the
future of time and eternity, but on all past time,
and even upon the unknown depths of a past eternity.
Here is a record of the early history of this earth
and man, bearing the attest of Jehovah; which, by
its general tone of truthfulness,unparalleled senten



18         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN,
tiousness, and divine simplicity, has commended itself to the intelligence of the wisest, greatest, and
best minds the race has produced.  This informs us
who the first woman was; where she lived, and what
were the leading events in her life. It is a fact of
interest to us, that she was " the mother of all living" —our great common mother.  On this account,
the beautiful and significant name of " Eve/" meaning "life," was given her. Let us consider
THE BIOGRAPHY OF EVE, AND ITS LESSONS.
The record tells us, that there had been in tihe
universe, but two forms of existence besides divinity;
one purely material, the other purely spiritual-angelic. Ancient as eternity in the Divine mind, however, was the purpose to create a new form of existence, not merely animal, not merely spiritual;
but a combination of both; with which, should be
associated some of the most far-reaching designs of
the Eternal; and some of the most glorious, as well
as awful results to His universe.:WVe may conceive of God, when the period arrived
for the consummation of this creative purpose; as
looking over existing worlds, and perceiving none
adapted to be the home of this new existence; and
that therefore, out of the chaotic mass of physical
elements, which may have existed millions of years
before, IHe formed this new world.  "He spake and
it was done " —" He commanded and it stood fast."




EVE.                   19
A new planet, fresh and radiant with primeval
beauty, revolved in mid-heaven, and angels, those
elder sons of God, over it shouted anthems of joy,
which were echoed
C' From world to luminous world, as far
As the universe spreads its flaming wall;"
welcoming the virgin Earth to the sisterhood of
worlds.
First vegetables, next animals, and finally man,
the last and mightiest work, was created.  With a
material body, whose form was erect and noble,
whose brow was crowned with honor and glory, as
the lord of this lower worldc; he had a God-breathed
soul, with faculties and endowments, upon which,
was enstampecl the moral image of his Creator.
Thus, he stood in the perfection of humanity, with
cerulean skies above him, earth's green carpet beneath him, and sweet flowers, beauteous scenery,
and harmless animals around him; while the air
was laden with the fragrance of flowers, and vocal
with the melody of warbling birds. But he was alone.
There was no human heart, against which he could
lean his own, with its wild joyous throbbings: there
was no human face, into which he could look, and
see reflected the bright bliss which beamed from his:
there was no one constituted like himself, to whom
he could speak and say, s" how beautiful is this our
home "-,C how good our Father who made it thus."




20        IREPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
"Therefore," the Lord God said,  It is not good for
man to be alone;; I will make a helpmeet for
him."  And He " caused a deep sleep to fall upon
Adam, and he slept, and He took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the
rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made
he a woman and brought her unto man."
With the philosophy of this, I have nothing to do.
Why the Almighty thus created woman, we are not
told; the fact only, is before us; and thus, we have
presented to us the first woman, who never knew
an infancy, nor childhood, nor youth, but came from
the hand of her Creator, fresh in the maturity of a
perfect womanhood. Of her personal appearance
we have no account; but. we do know that she was
the outwrought, divine ideal of a _perfect woman.
It is a great truth,; that every product of the creative power, previously existed as a thought, in the
mind of God. A true artist's ideal of female form
and figure, is beautiful, as we see it developed in the
Venus of Titian, and the Greek Slave of Powers.
This ideal of great artists, has been too grand for
their unaided art to embody, and therefore they
have sought material models to aid its realization
in marble or on the canvass. But how supremely
glorious must have been the embodiment of:God's
ideal of a woman! how resplendent her virginal
beauty-how unsullied her purity-how perfect her
grace! with what rapturous joy the first man must




EVE.                        21
have gazed on the first woman-radiant with transcendent loveliness, who was to be his companion —
his bosom friend —his wife.  "And Adam said, this
is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: she
shall be called woman, because she was taken out
of man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and
his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and
they shall be one flesh."
Now we have before us the first mnarried pair.
Eve, whom  we have contemplated as the first woman, appears as the first bride —the first wife. And
here too, we have the original institution of marriage, with which is associated so many of the greatest blessings of life. For,
" Till Hymen brought his love delighted hour,
There dwelt no joy in Eden's rosy bower!
In vain the viewless seraph lingering there,
At starry midnight charmed the silent air;
In vain the wild-bird caroll'd on the steep,
To hail the sun, slow wheeling from the deep;
In vain, to soothe the solitary shade,
YErial notes in mingling measure play'd;
The summer wind that shook the spangled tree
The whispering wave, the murmur of the bee;
Still slowly pass'd the melancholy day,
And still the stranger, wist not where to stray;
The world was sad!-the garden was a wild;
And man, the hermit, sighed-till woman smiled!'
Truly said the most eloquent of British preachers, that,    Marriage  institutions  are the  great
civilizers of the world, and essential to the welfare




22          REPRESEN TATIVE WOMEN.
of mankind. They are the source of tenderness as
well as guardian of peace. Without the permanent
union of the sexes, there can be no union of families; the dissolution of nuptial ties involves the dissolution of domestic society. But domestic society
is the seminary of the social affections, the cradle of
sensibility, where the first elements are acquired of
that tenderness and humanity which cement mankind together; and were they extinguished, the
whole fabric of socialitstitutions would be dissolved."
In the record we are now considering, you have the
origin of this world-blessing institution; you see
the first human pair united in marriage bonds —
earth's first bridal.
Next, is the account of the first human sin.  To
understand the nature of this, we must remember
that our primal parents, by divine arrangement were
made representatives of their race; whose moral
character, whether good or evil, must descend to
their posterity, who would inherit it from them, as
truly as their physical nature; that they were
created moral agents, endowed with the power of
choice of good or evil, whose happiness and moral
condition, and that of their race, depended on their
choosing the good, whose highest virtue, therefore,
should consist in voluntary obedience. The strength
of their will to obey, could only be tested by trial;
and there could be no trial without temptation;
therefore temptation was presented: but accom



EVE.                   23
panied by the most fearful warning.  Many have
expressed surprise at the character of the temptation. It has seemed strange to them  that such
stupendous results should be suspended on the eating of an apple.
But you must remember that the essence of sin,
consists not in the apparent smallness or greatness
of the overt act. If your daughter steals a ribbon
worth six pence, she is as really a thief as if she
stole ten thousand dollars. You must reflect, what
temptation could have been presented?   They
could be guilty of no crime now common.  They
were in daily communion with their Creator; and
such was their condition that in neither " idolatry,"
"blasphemy," "Sabbath breaking," "dishonoring
of parents,"  " murder,"'"adultery,"'theft,"
" false witness, or c covetousness," was it scarcely
possible that they could sin.
Observe the kindness of God, developed inthe
nature of the temptation presented. It did not address itself to any necessity of her nature, or circumstances. It did not address itself to any want,
for the supply of' which He had not adequately provided. For Eden abounded with every variety of
fruit.
Reflect again-what is the root of all sin?  God
knew that all crimes which could ever be committed, would spring from one alone —disobedience to
His righteous will; and therefore was it that Hi.s




24         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
infinite wisdom ordained that the trial of man's
love, and faith, and virtue should simply be obedience
to His will, expressed in the clearest, most direct
form.
Yielding to the seductions of the Tempter-to
the unlawful exercise of elements natural to her constitution, Eve disobeyed God, partook of the forbidden fruit. And perchance " through curiosity, presumption, overweening trust in her own strength
-the desire to act alone, to become wiser and
greater, and higher in the scale of being than the
station in which her Father placed her e perchance
attracted by novelty, beauty —those idol shrines at
which woman so often sacrifices herself, she fell."
Oh! in that hour of peril, why did she not flee
from the Tempter's spell to her husband's sheltering bosom?  Oh! in that hour of peril, why did
she not look heavenward and cry, " Father, help?"
She had free will, she had equal power to call upon
the -Lord, as to listen to the Tempter.  Alas! the
bulwark of faith within her was gone! She had
deliberately, voluntarily disobeyed the command of
her God, and its fearful penalty was upon her. For
awhile we may suppose her to have experienced the
wild intoxication of sinful joy, while conscious of
her independence, having shaken off the divine control-broken through the barriers, love had thrown
around her.
But she was a changed being —she was a rebel



EVE.                     25
she was'a sinner: so that we see the first woman,
the first bride, the first wife, was, alas, alas, thefirst
human sinner.  Oh! could you have seen her then,
you would have seen wild agitation in that heart
where all had been peace; you had seen lines of care
forming on that hitherto placid brow, which were
never to be effaced.
Now behold theprogressive nature of sin.  She in
turn becomes a tempter: with her own hand, she
takes the forbidden fruit to him, and conscious of
her power over Adamrn, induces him to eat. Perchance had the first tempter-the Devil-presented
that forbidden fruit to him he had spurned it, with
holy indignation; but at a glance, he saw that his
wife had fallen; and her fair hand now beckoned
him, down the fearful abyss, and he yielded-he
fell.  The trial was passed; both stood voluntarily
disobedient to the plain, positive will of God,-their
holiness was lost-the fatal blow against the divine
government was struck:
"Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat
Siglhing, through all her works gave signs of woe,
That all was lost! * * * * * *
Skies lower'd, and, muttering thunder, some sad drops
Wept, at completing of the mortal sin
Original."
The first development of their sin was shame. Ah!
sin, is evermore, the mother of shame!
You remember the next scene. -The Lord God




26          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
appears in the garden, as he was wont in the cool of
the day; they hear his voice,-which had always
been a father's voice, with tones laden with paternal love, a; the sound of which, like happy children,
they were wont to joyously hasten to meet Him.
But now, conscious of their guilt, they dare not
meet him.  We hear them exclaim:
"Ah! whither shall we fly. what path untrod
Shall we seek out to'scape the flaming rod
Of our offended, of our angry God."
Concealment amid embowering foliage is vain, for,
through the " trees of the garden" the authoritative voice penetrated, saying, "Adam, where art
thou?" Slowly the guilty pair approach, and behold, how fallen!  Adam's first utterance to his
God was a falsehood, —" I was afraid because I was
naked."  Was that the cause of his fear?  Was
he naked?
Behold the next evidence of his degradationhis loss of true mcnliness.  Instead of acknowledging his personal guilt; assuming his individual responsibility, and sheltering, so far as he might, the
pallid wife who trembled at his side, he selfishly
said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with
me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat!"
Oh! what a change sin makes in a man's heart, as
well as in his spirit.  Those cold, unkind words
must have entered Eve's heart, and caused a bitter
pang.  And when the Lord said to her, " What is




EVE.                    27
this that thou hast done?" instead of acknowledging her guilt, she said, " The serpent beguiled me."
Then, the evidence of guilt complete, God pronounced the penalty of their sin upon them,'" Unto
the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and conception.  In sorrow  shalt thou bring
forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
The next event in the biography of Eve is one of
mournful interest, to adequately picture which, I
should need, as Shelley grandly says —" lHues, as when some mighty painter dips
His pen in dyes of earthquake and eclipse."
Remember, that though she had fallen from  her
high estate; that though birds, which had once
nestled in her bosom, now fled away in fear; that
though young animals which once had playfully
gamboled around her, now fled at her approach;
that though beasts of the field, which had once
slept at her feet, now slunk away from her with glaring eyeballs; that still, Eden was her home —
where she had spent so many blissful hours —the
only place in which she had ever lived.  Remember, what home is to a woman's heart, that none
can sing with such pathos as woman, those familiar
heart-words,
" Home, home, sweet, sweet home,
Be it ever so homely, there is no place like home."




28           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Eden was Eve's home; but now she must leave itleave it in consequence of her own act; leave it
forever.  Never more may she breathe its fragranceladen atmosphere, —never more may she see its gor7
geous flowers, or taste its luscious fruits-never more
may she recline in its shady bowers, with its aromatic zephyrs playing around her. " 0, unexpected
stroke, worse than of Death!"  Eve must bid farewell to this her early —her only home, must go forth
into other, and untried scenes.  Poor, wretched,
sinful, exiled Eve! mother of us all, our hearts
bleed while we think of thee leaving Paradise,
taking thy last, long, lingering look of thy once
happy home, and going forth, with a soul agonized
with pain and guilt, into the wide wastes of a world
all unknown to thee i well mightest thou exclaim,
" Must I thus leave thee, Paradise! thus leave
Thee, native soil, these happy walks and shades,
Fit haunt of Gods! where I had hoped to spend,
Quiet though sad, the respite of that day
That must be mortal to us both!"
We have now reached the closing portion of
her life, which embraces her history as a mother.
The record says, C that many sons and daughters
were born unto them;" but the names of only three
of the children of our first parents are given: Not
the name of a single daughter is mentioned. Is
there any significc:zncy in thisfact?
Her first born vwas a son. It may seem strange,




EVE.                   29
that she did not call him after her husband. His
was the only name she had ever heard; but in her
joy she exclaimed, " I have gotten a man from the
Lord," and therefore she called his name " Cain,"
which signifies " possession." With what yearning
tenderness she must have pressed that baby boy —
that first-born of earth to her bosom; what sweet
hopes were born with him! Alas! alas! how little she dreamed of the new agony that child would
bring upon her. Another element of her joy may
have been, that in him, she thought she recognized
the promised seed —the hope of the race —who
should " bruise the serpent's head."
The name given to her second son was "Abel."
It is worthy of note, that while Adam gave names
to the beasts of the field, Eve gave names to her
children. And mark how significant each is. Cain
signifies " possession, the gotten one;" and "Abel,"
transient, o vanity;" while he, who was born
after the death of Abel, she calledl' Seth," the
" substitute one." Why did she call her second boy
"Abel," a name of such strange significance?  It
may have been because of his physical weakness, he
may have been a feeble child, whom  she thought
short lived —a pale flower that, might soon fade and
die.  Or was it because Cain's boyhood had disappointed her fond hopes, by developing those fierce
passions which, not only wrought such fearful mischief, but satisfied her mind, that he could not be




30          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
the promised seed?  For one, or both of these reasons, as she embraced her second born, despondently
she called him "Abel" —" transient;" for so she
felt all around her to be, even those fond, maternal
hopes, whose rainbow hues had spanned her sky for
a brief while, and then faded away before newly
gathering storm clouds.
Two interesting facts deserve attention at this
point, which throw light upon the internal character
of earth's first family; and give ground for hope,
that though fallen, our first parents were penitent
— had faith in the divine promise, and were endeavoring to serve God. One is, that they religiously
educated. their children-both of these sons are
found offering sacrifices to God. The other is, that
they brought zup their children to labor; for we find
both had occupations. We have now reached the
last recorded scene.
A bitterer cup awaited her than any she had yet
tasted; a cup, than which, none more bitter could
press a mother's lips. Her boys had grown to manhood. The one stalwart and strong, but rude and
high tempered; the other, delicate and fair, but
gentle and loving —a nature adapted to soothe a
mother's sorrows, and by gentle ministries gladden
a mother's loneliness. Cain's heart was evil, therefore the Scriptures say, "his works were evil;"
while Abel's heart was pure, therefore his works
were righteous. John asks,' Why did Cain slay




EVE.                   31
Abel?  Because his own works were evil and his
brother's righteous." Did not their mother know of
this? She must have known it; and knowing it,
while she still loved with all a mother's deathless
affection, her first born, wicked boy, her poor heart
must have clung to her second born, her pure and
righteous Abel; gathering tenderly around him,
her future hopes.  He gave her no anxiety —he
caused her no trouble; he was sunlight to her darksome dwelling-he was all —and 0, how much that
is! how much a kind, affectionate, devoted son can
be, to a fond and doting mother!
One bright morning, as was his wont, he bade
her adieu, and with jocund step, left the home to
which he was never more to return; and went to
the fields to his daily charge. Ah! poor Eve! she
dreamed not as she watched his loved form receding
in the distance, that she was never again to see it;
never again to clasp it in her arms, until death,
hitherto unknown, had encircled it in his icy embrace.  Envious and hating, Cain raises his murderous hand, and strikes his younger brother the
fatal blow. Starting back in wild horror from his
fearful deed, Cain, the first son, stands in the face of
his God, the first of earth's muzrderers. Wretched
Cain! the shed blood of thvy brother cries out to
heaven I Those loving eyes are now closed forever;
that gentle heart will beat no more; the life blood
gurgles from out the gaping wound; and the first




32          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
human corpse heavily presses that soil, which has so
often since been wet with human gore.  How long
it laid there before Eve knew of the murder, we are
not told; long hours may have intervened.  Perchance, weary with waiting for his return, she saw
the day close-the sun disappear —mountain shadows steal over the plain-soft moonbeams begin
to silver the tree tops, until she becomes restless and
uneasy, with that strange-and undefined foreboding
which unknown evil sometimes throws before it,
over the human heart.  Perchance she said, "I
will go and meet my returning boy."  Over the
quiet plains, by the familiar path, I see her wend
her lonely, anxious way, towards whither she knew
he went; I see her approach the dreadful spot,
and discover some dark object in the dim  distance-she draws nearer, and nearer, and nearer;
the object takes form, and oh! merciful God! she
recognizes her gentle, loving Abel, prostrate and
motionless! Eve had never seen a corpse.  She
knew not what death was.  She had never heard
that name but once, and then it was part of her sentence in the garden. Therefore, while pale moonbeams are falling upon his paler face, she wildly
looks into it, and exclaims, "Abel, my son, speak,
oh, speak to your mother!" Those pale lips move
not, and tenderly she puts forth her hand to arouse
him from what seems a strange stupor-her hand
touches blood, she finds the wound, and, like a




EVE.                   33
lightning flash; the thought now comes upon her,
"this is death!"  And here my own heart fails I
My imagination reels! I cannot conceive! Oh!
mothers, mothers! you alone can conceive the immeasurable agony that rent her maternal bosom, as
she saw her darling son, dead, murdered: you alone
can conceive the torturing grief which the knowledge brought with it, as to who must have been the
perpetrator of this direful deed; for she could but
know that it was Cain, his brother, her first born,
in whose infancy she had experienced such wild joy,
and in regard to whom she had indulged such glorious hopes! And here ends Eve's biography.
Of Adam it is said, that he " lived nine hundred and thirty years." But we are not told how
long Eve lived; when she died; where she died,
or how she died. That she died a penitent woman,
exercising faith in the Messiah, God had promised
her; that through the riches of grace she was saved,
and received into the celestial Paradise, which is
far more lovely and glorious than her primeval Eden
home, we will, we do most joyously believe.  ~We
cling with unyielding tenacity to the belief, that
even as she was the first woman who ever trod our
earth, she was the first woman from  earth, who,
saved by that grace, which threw the rainbow of
promise over the black cloud of legal penaltyreached the flowery plains of the Eden above-the
first female voice that mingled with angelic choirs.




34         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Eve's biography teachesI. A lesson in regard to the true relation of the
sexes to each other. Ever since the fall, greater or
less degradation has been the lot of woman. Men
have claimed lofty superiority over them  in all
lands and ages; and in some nations have reduced
them to almost the level of the brute creation. In
ages brilliant with mere intellectual splendor, they
have been made the slaves of toil and passion,
their intellectual endowments have been overlooked,
and even their immortality practically denied. But,
with the progress of Christianity, woman's nature,
duties, and destiny have been appreciated, and her
true relations to God and man developed.  Thus
the promised " seed" has become the alleviator
from one portion of her personal curse. How clearly
her essential relations to man are exhibited, in the
biography of the first woman. She was not " made
of the dust of the earth," but made of what God
took out of man.  He could have created woman
by a word, or created her at the same time that he
did Adam. But he created man first, and gave him
dominion over the world, and then when about to
create woman, He said, "I will make a help-meet
for him."  And was there not great significance in
God's creating woman out of what he took from the
side of man?  This significance once struck the
mind of a young lady, and she asked a surgeon
"Why woman was made from the rib of man, in




EVE.                   35
preference to any other bone?T' He gave the following gallant answer-"c She was not taken from
the head of man, lest she should rule over him;
nor from his feet, lest he should trample upon her;
but she was taken from his side, that she might be
his equal-from under his arm, that he might protect
her, from near his heart, that -he might cherish and
love her."  In this record then, let women learn
the relation that God instituted between her and
man. Let wives remember, the design of God in
relation to them is, that they should be help-meets
for their husbands; and, 0 what a helper amid
life's heavy toils, corroding cares and ceaseless anxieties, is a true woman-a loving wife!
Let no false pride, no mawkish sentimentalism
keep women from fulfilling this God-assigned mission, and cheerfully occupying this her noblest position. And let man remember that " if-in strength
of body, in power of intellect, in breadth of thought,
he is her superior: yet in depth and faithfulness of
love, in the capability of feeling and enduring, in
devotedness and fortitude% in moral intuition, woman
is his superior."
Let husbands remember, that their wives are bone
of their bone and flesh of their flesh, and that he
who abuses his wife, is in the sight of God, and by
right, ought to be in the sight of men, a miserable
coward, a dastardly knave.
II. It teaches a lesson concerning woman's dan



36         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
ger. What element did the seducing Tempter
awaken in Eve's soul?  VWas it not " discontent
with her condition, a desire to have more than her
allotted portion: to enjoy what was beyond her
station, to be something more than God made her:
to know, to pry into what her Father thought best
to conceal!"  Hence she sinned; she fell into the
snare of the devil, and how fearful her fall! We
weep when we think of that beauty, formed for
eternal bloom, which so soon began to fade; of the
effacement from her soul of the glory of the divine
image;'of the departure of that innocence and purity which fitted her to be the companion of angels:
of the incoming of that brood of dismal horrors into
her capacious soul,'and the terrible bitterness of
that remorse which fastened upon her once joyous
spirit! And, does not one of womcan's chief dangers arise now from the same source?  Does not
uncurbed curiosity lead many a woman to fall an
easy prey to the same tempter?  Does not the unchecked desire to be something different from what
God intended: her desire to rise, not morally, not
intellectually, but _positionally, to get above the
sphere in which Providence has placed her, to be
herself the object of admiration and adoration, lead
her to forget God; trample on his laws, pervert her
moral nature, and so occupy her mind with frivolity,
and her. time with frippery, making her whole life
a horrible failure? Oh, woman! whatever leads




EVE.                   37
thee to forget thy God, to wander from the path of
duty, how alluring soever it may seem, how much
soever it may promise, it is only an ugly devil in a
beauteous form! For God is thy best, thy truest
friend! His will thy sublimest privilege, thy most
imperious duty! His favor is thy surest protection,
His service thy noblest mission! Oh, woman! remember that every element within, that leads thee
away from  thy God, is an element of danger 
Trust not in thine own strength as Eve did!  Say
not in scorn of Eve's weakness, that hadst thou been
her, the temptation of that forbidden tree had been
resisted, its fruit remained untouched for ever! By
that very self-reliant thought, Eve's sin is developed
within thee, ald thou art as likely as she, to fall
before the first. assault of her wily tempter!
III. It teaches a lesson concerning woman's influence.  God intended she should exert a powerful influence in the world. How inconceivably vast
has been that of the first woman!  In a measure,
my friends, the same law pertains to you. Are you
a wife, as Eve was? Then you are either a blessing or a curse to your husband; you either lighten
his toils or make them heavier; you make his home
a heaven or a hell; you make him a better man or
a worse one; call out his higher nature or his lower.
For many -a man's poverty his wife is responsible 
for many a man's dissipation, his wife may blame
herself. And for what many men are, in their high




38         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
position and lofty character, they are indebted to
their wives. " The treasures of the deep are not so
precious as are the concealed comforts of a man,
locked up in woman's love."  Are you a mother, as
Eve was! Who shall tell the extent of your influence upon your children! Are you sisters? Have
you brothers? Your love may shield them, your
companionship elevate and ennoble them!
The merciful God grant that Eve's biography,
with its lessons on woman's position, woman's danger, and woman's influence, may be sanctified to
your permanent good.




SARAH,
G&; t,farentiaX   g ift.
1 Peter 38: 6. " Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham-calling him Lord."'
IT is an interesting fact, that in the history of
the first two thousand years of the world, we find
the name of no woman prominent after Eve.  The
first female after the "mother of all living," to
whom prominence is given, is c Sarah, the wife of
Abram.l"
There are three facts which invest her biography
with interest. One is, her relation to Abraham,
the first patriarch after the flood-the greatest man
of his age. We feel, that a woman, whose influence
over a man like Abraham, possessed of all the elements of greatness: great in physical might, insomuch that with his own household he subdued
kings with their hosts: great in material possessions, great in magnanimity, insomuch that he refused
the offers of the king of Sodom, and manifested towards Lot more than fraternal generosity: great in




40         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
the dignity conferred upon him by God and angels:
great in position-the literal father of a mighty nation, and the spiritual father of all believers in
Christ, whose descendant he was, according to the
flesh: and finally, great in his relations to the future world, for the Jew called Heaven " Abraham's
bosom," and our Saviour, speaking of it, said,
" Many shall come from the east and from the west,
and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;"
we feel, I say, that a woman who sustained the relation of wife to such a man, and whose influence
over him was so great, must have possessed a character worthy of our attention.
The second fact is, the honor God conferred upon
her.  Her name originally was  "Sarai," which
means "L my lady,"'my princess;" but when He
revealed to Abram that his posterity should be as
numerous as the stars-that myriad host, the burning blazonry of heaven-and therefore changed his
name from " Abram," which means " Prince," to
"Abraham," which means " father of many nations,"
He also changed her name to " Sarah," which means
C princess of a multitude."  The prophet Isaiah
also makes most honorable mention of her name, in
connection with that of Abraham-" Look unto
Abraham your father, and to Sarah that bare you."
The third fact is, that if Eve was the literal mother of the race, Sarah may be regarded as sustaining a similar spiritual relation to it: for through




SARAH.                  41
her the Eden promise was fulfilled concerning the
seed that should bruise the serpent's head. From
her line came the second Adam, who, on the heights
of Calvary, met and overcame the fiend-foe, that on
the plains of Eden, conquered our first parents.
The apostle Peter, addressing Christian females,
speaking of Sarah, says, " whose daughters ye are."
Paul, too, registers her name in the galaxy of those
who obtained a good report through faith, and who
compose the great cloud of witnessev, beholding
from their spheres of light, the progress of Christians as they run up the path of glory. It can but
be, that Christian females will be interested in the
history and character of their spiritual mother, who
is held up by the Apostle Peter as an example of
deferential wives. I shall consider,
Points in the biography of Sarah suggestive of
practical instruction.
I. HER PIETY. —That she was a pious woman
there is no doubt. True, she was born and reared
in the midst of idolatry among the mountains of
Armenia, in Ur of Chaldea.  The name   Ur,"
signifies fire, or light, and the Chaldeans worshipped
the sun, a form of idolatry most exalted. For, what
in all nature so nearly resembles the true God as
that grand orb, whose refulgent beams flood the
world with light, penetrate it with genial warmth,
and cover it with beauty. They were not, how



R42  EPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
ever, an ignorant people, nor unrefined: they cultivated philosophy, astronomy, and magic.  From
Sarah's native country, in after years-I mention it
as an evidence of their cultivation-came Balaam,
Whose fame was so great that Balak thought him
adequate to the discomfiture of all Israel. From
her eastern clime came the Magi, who sought the
infant. Saviour, led. by the star of which their progenitor Balaam  so grandly spake, and who themselves are called c" wise men from the east."
Every scholar knows that the Chaldean philosophy was the earliest of philosophies: and to this day,
numbers its adherents by thousands. It was also
among Sarah's kindred, and Sarah's people, and
leatri-y indicates the extent of their intellectual
advancermeit, thamt many of the names of stellar
consteltat.tons, such as Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades,
31azza:rotth: namnes by which they are known in all
astroniomicatl work-s, originated and were applied.
I mention these`interesting and not well known
facts, because I would have you conceive of Sarah
as she really was, not an uneducated female, but
one nurtured amid the highest civilization then
known, a civilization which lacked only one element,
a knowledge of the true God. It made the mistake of regarding the works of God, as God himself
-it saw not that"All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body, nature is, but God the soul."




SAIRA.                 43
Just when, or where, or how a knowledge of the
true God, came to the Chaldean maiden's mind, we
do not know; but that she did learn, that of which
hoary philosophers were ignorant, though their observatories and altars crowned every hill-top that
girt her childhood's home, we do know. Peradventure, it was in this wise; God revealed himself to
Abram, her half brother, whom He had purposed
to call out and separate, as the head of a new nation —a mighty people, to whom should be committed the divine oracles, and through whom He should
accomplish His gracious purposes concerning the
race; and through him she was led to know God,
and knowing Iim, to love Him, and loving Him, to
serve Himl; for we find her worshipping with her
husband; bowing with him around altars consecrated to Jehovah. True, Sarah's piety was not of so
high a character as that of some other females in
the Bible; neither was her faith as strong as that
of some. This is seen in regard to the promise,
that she should have a son, who should be the promised seed.  Looking rather at the natural improbabilities, than at the power of God, she laughed
at the announcement. We must remember, however, that twenty long years elapsed between the
first announcement and thel fulfillment. You may
be somewhat shocked at the arrangement she proposed with regard to Hagar; but you must remember that custom sanctioned it. You must remem



44          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
ber that you have far greater light than she had;
and that in the transaction there was, as a British
divine has said, "a magnanimous surrender of her
own rights, in order to secure the fulfillmentt of the
divine promise to her husband, which you can but
admire."  Her great mistake was, just that which
thousands of both sexes have made, and are making,
in acting upon the principle that " the end justifies
the means."   That her faith was weak, might be
inferred from the fact that, Abraham  did not confide to her the intelligence that God had called him
to sacrifice Isaac.  But you must remember that
God spared her that trial, for it was to test the
power of Abrahanm's faith, not hers.  However this
may be, though her piety was not what we could
wish it had been, still the fact stands confessed, that
according to her light she was a worshipper of the
true God. For the Scriptures present ample proof
of this. Her piety and general character were superior to those of any of the other wives of the Patriarchs. Two apostles, Paul and Peter, bear testimony to her religious character.  Paul places her
amid the galaxy of ancient worthies; Peter describes the pious adornment of her spirit.  Paul
records her faithfulness to God; Peter, her dutifulness to her husband; Paul writes of her as a believer; Peter, of her as a well-doer; Paul exhibits her as an example for Christians in general;




SARAH.                  45
Peter, as the mother of the daughters who do well.
She was therefore a worshipper of the true God.
Can this be said of you, my female friend? How
much greater light you have!  Born, not in a
heathen land, as Sarah was, but in a land upon
which the full orbed sun of the gospel shines: descended not from heathen parents, as Sarah was,
nay! many of you are daughters of pious fathers
and mothers, who sang the story of a Saviour's love
over your cradles, and taught you in your girlhood
to sing sweet hymns of praise to God, to bow in
prayer, and, folding your little hands, repeat " Our
Father."  But do you worship God?  Have you
laid your woman's heart, with its beautiful affections, on the altar of true religion?   0, women
ought to be Christians!  Christianity has special
claims on them-it has been the great element of
their elevation!  For them not to love God is to
be guilty of double ingratitude.  Oh, sisters! as
sinners against God, you personally need an interest in the atoning merit of His dear Son; in your
relations you need His aid, to enable you to discharge
your duties; amid the trials that await you, you will
need its consolations; and in the dark hour of death,
when you must close your eyes on this bright and
beautiful world, bid farewell to all you love, oh,
then you will need —when no other arm can sustain
you, the support of the arm of Jehovah Jesus;
when all other lights shall grow dark, you will need




46          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
the bright beamings of a Saviour's smile. Alas!
alas! how many mothers, wives and daughters, are
living in utter forgetfulness of the God whom Sarah
worshipped, of Christ, whose feet Mary wet with
her tears, of the Bible which Eunice and Lois loved,
of the cause of religion, whose most efficient helpers in apostolic days, were holy women!
I pause here, and pray to Almighty God, that
each woman who hears me-mothers, wives, maidens, all, may be led immediately to seek and serve
the Lord, so that when they shall have departed, it
may be said of them, as it is said of Sarah-she was
a worshipper of God.
II. I ask you to consider the domestic character
of Sara7h.
Observe here a few biographical facts.  In early
life, she formed a matrimonial connection with
Abram — the son of her father, but not of her
mother."  Sometime subsequent to her marriage,
we read that the entire family, consisting of her
husband's father, Terah, his brother Haran, Lot,
his nephew, and Sarah, his wife, emigrated westward five hundred miles toward the shores of the
3Mediterranean, carrying with them the elements of a
nation, the germ of a race, whose moral and religious influence should permeate the world. History shows that all important emigrations have been




SABAI.                  47
westward; insomuch, that the poetic line of Bishop
Berkely —
" Westward the star of empire takes it way,"
has become a proverb. Our Pilgrim Fathers sought
westward an asylum for liberty and religion; and
from the eastern part of this continent emigration
has been, and is, westward evermore.
The next fact recorded is, that as soon as Sarah
and her husband's family reached Palestine, they
consecrated their new home, by erecting a family
altar to the true God; first on the plains of Morah,
between Mount Ebal and Gerizim, and afterwards
at memorable Bethel.  There the family remained
until a severe famine was experienced, and- then
they went to Egypt; thence they returned to Canaan; there God's covenant was renewed, and the
promise of a son given, through whom, all the nations of the earth should be blessed, and Abraham
obtained splendid victories over his enemies. Years
passed away; Abrahaml  became immensely rich,
but he was childless.  His feelings with reference
to this fact may be gathered from these words,
which he uttered to Jehovah: "Lord God, what
wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless-behold,
thou hast given me no seed, and lo! one born in
my house is my heir." That this was a matter of
regret to Sarah there is no doubt; but we do not
hear of hei complaining.  Then occurred the tran



48          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
saction with Hagar —Ishmael was born.  During
twelve years, both Abraham and Sarah suplposed
that he was the heir according to the promise. But
at this period God announced that His promisethat Sarah should have a son-should soon be fulfilled.  Sarah, though not in the apartment where
the angels were entertained-for eastern custom
forbade her presence there, still heard the announcement, and laughed; so improbable did it seem to
her; therefore, when a son was born, his name was
called " Isaac," which signifies "'laughter."  Subsequently Sodom was destroyed-they visited the
country of the Philistines-Isaac was born-years
passed away, until at the advanced age of one hundred and twenty-seven years, she closed her eyes in
death. Such is a meagre outline of the domestic
history of the family; and if you will take pains to
study the Scripture filling up, you will be impressed
with two features of her domestic life.
First. Her love and deferential respect for her
husband.
I beg you to observe this characteristic feature
all through her life, from the moment she gave him
her maiden hand and heart, at Ur of Chaldea, until
she died.  She was not only a faithful helpmeet,
going with him where he went, sharing his fortunes,
prudently caring for his temporal interests, but ever
exhibited towards him the most loving respect. Rebecca deceived Isaac, Sarah never deceived Abra



SARAH.                  49
ham,  When she would send Hagar and Ishmael
away, the probability was, that it would be displeasing to Abraham.  YHad she been like some
women, she might have managed to gain her point,
and yet, evaded the probable displeasure: but she
had too much respect for her husband-high-minded
woman that she was-pure-minded wife that she
was-to be guilty of such conduct.  Therefore she
went with her purpose to him first, and this plain
evidence of confidence in, and respect for him,
doubtless did much towards obtaining his approbation.
This trait in Sarah's character is held up in the
Bible as a model for wives: "Likewise ve wives be in
subjection to your own husbands; that if any obey
not the word, they also may without the word be
won by the conversations of the wives: even as
Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose
daughters ye are as long as ye do well, and are not
afraid with any amazement."  I speak advisedly
when I say, that I admit that there are husbands,
who are so mean, degraded, and villainous, as to
make it impossible that their wives should respect
them.  In regard to such I have nothing to urge.
I sympathize with the old lady, who, when told that
the Bible says that " husbands are the heads of their
wives," replied, " Well, all I have to say is, that
some poor souls have miseralle heads."  Such form
an exception to the general rule.  But what is the




50         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Bible rule? " Wives, submit yourselves unto your
own husbands, as unto the Lord."  "Let the wife
see that she reverence her husband." Paul says to
the Corinthians, "I would have you know that the
head of every man is Christ; and the heard of the
woman is the man: and the head of Christ is God.-"
Am I mistaken in supposing that one tendency
of our times is, to make wives unlike S arah in this
respect-to make them  suspicious and jealous of
their husband's position in regard to them: to make
them set up in their own minds a false independence; and forget that wife and husband are onethat her husband's interests are her own?  Am I.
mistaken in supposing that very many wives neglect
to cultivate and exhibit that loving deference, and
affectionate respect towards their companions, which
is their due-not because they are rich or poor,
learned or unlearned, high or low in position, but
because they are their husbands, and this, a duty
arising out of the marriage.covenant.? Now, two
things are essential to any husband's being what he
ought to be. One is, that he respect himself. He
who does not respect himself, will not command the
respect of others. The other is, consciousness of
his w      pfe's respect. Would you have your husband
enjoy the respect of others?  Let him know, and
let them see, that his wife respects him as Sarah
respected Abraham. This very thing, which to you
may seem unimportant, and reference to which, per



SARAH.                   51
chance, may excite a smile on your face, every husband before me knows to be important-knows, that
a consciousness that he is respected by his own wife,
will cause him to respect himself; nerve him to become more and more worthy of that respect. Many
a man, perhaps your own husband, is made miserable by evidence that the being more closely allied to
him than any on earth, respects others more than
himself; cares more for the society of others than
for his; shows greater deference to the opinions of
others than to his.
Such women are unwise. They are not helpmeets; they discourage where they should encourage; they make that home gloomy, which their
glad, approving smile should fill with sunlight;
they fail as Sarah did not, to discharge their full
duty to those who chose them to be their bosom
companions, and to vwhom  they vowed before the
sacred altars of God, that they would be all that
wives ought to be.
Closer, closer let us knit
Hearts and hands together;
Where our fireside comforts sit,
In the wildest weather;
O, they wander wide who roam
For the joys of life, from home."
I beg you to study the domestic character of
Sarah, as a model in this respect; it will aid you
to mould your own characters as wives, and thereby




52         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
obey the command of Inspiration recorded in I
Peter 3: 1,2, 6.
The second leading feature of her domestic character is, her watchcare over her son.
There are two reasons on account of which, we
may suppose, Isaac to have been peculiarly dear to
Sarah.  One is, ti:ci fact that he was her only son,
indeed, her only  ahild, and emphatically the child
of her old age. All the strong feelings of her womanly and maternal nature centered upon him, as
her only offspring.  Those mothers here to-day,
who have an only child, can sympathize with the
feelings of Sarah in regard to Isaac.  The other is,
the fact which Sarah knew-that God had designated him as the seed, and through which all the
families of the earth should be blessed.
But now observe the developments of Sarah's love
for her boy.  She kept him from the evil infiuaente
of a bad associate.  Remember, that the Egyptian
Hagar and her son Ishmael, were yet with them.
Sarah saw Ishmael " mocking"-Paul says, " persecuting Isaac."  Ishmael was a wild, rude, ungodly
youth, thirteen years older than Isaac.  God said
of him, that " his hand should be against every
man, and every man against him."  From him descended the Arabs —those wild robbers of the desert; and amongst us, when we see a man intensely
selfish, arraying himself in opposition to the interests
of others, we call him  " a perfect Ishmaelite."




SARAH.                  53
Now Sarah saw that, this mocking, persecuting,
wicked Ishmael would corrupt her boy; tl-herefore
she determined to separate them: knowing that
there was far more danger of Ishmael ruining Isaac,
than probability of Isaac reforming Ishmalel. The
decision of her clear, strong judgment was, that one
must be saved, rather than risk both; and that
womanly decision to guard her son from the contamination of a wicked associate, met with the approbation of her God.  0, mothers! this trait in
Sarah's domestic character, is suggestive of instruction to you. You love your children; God and
you only know how much; they are dear to you as
the life-drops of your heart.  But does your love
for your sons take the practical form, that Sazrah's
did?  Are you careful to guard them from -the pernicious influence of bad associates?  One corrupt
boy like Ishmael, associating with your boy, can
counteract your influence, undermine his virtue,
lead him astray, and thus blast, your fond hopes,
and bring you down in sorrow to your grave.
In after years, when Isaac, reaching a pure and
noble manhood, looking back, saw the peril to which
his boyhood had been exposed —think ye not, he
thanked from his inmost heart, that fond but firm,
loving yet decided mother —whose watchfulness saw
that peril, and whose independence saved him from
it? O, mothers! I beg you, by all the love you
bear your sons, by all the hopes that you have




.54         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
wreathed around them, by your regard to your own
future happiness and peace, to lose no time in diligently enquiring whether there are not mocking,
persecuting young Ishmaels among their associates;
and if you find that there are, withdraw your sons
from their influence, as Sarah did hers, before it
shall be too late. I am satisfied that as parents, we
are not watchful enough on this point. Our children must have associates, but it is our duty to see
that those associates are not Ishmaels.  It is a
mournful truth, that young Ishmaels abound in this
age, which is characterized by a strange perversion
of that Scripture which says, " Parents, train up
your children;" whereas, as it has been truly said,
"e too many children train their parents."
III. The last point in this biography, to which I
have time to refer, suggestive of practical instruction to her sex, is one which ought particularly to
interest younger females. It is Saralh's true estimate of personal beauty.
She was unquestionably a beautiful woman; to
this day the country where Sarah was born, is famed
for the beauty of its females; for I suppose you
know, that the modern Circassia, which supplies
the slave market at Constantinople with its beautiful female slaves, is the same as ancient Armenia.
Circassian is world-famed, as the highest type of
physical beauty; and if you have read the record
with care, you have observed, how often Sarah is




SARAH.                  55
represented as being "c fair-very fair."  Hers, too,
was not of an ephemeral character; hence, we find
that at the age of sixty-five, when what beauty women have had, has, ordinarily, long since faded —as
this noble pair journey into Egypt, we hear Abraham saying to Sarah-" Behold, I know that thou
art a fair woman to look upon;" and for fear of danger to himself, on her account, he stooped to prevarication: telling her to say, " thou art my sister;" which in one sense was true, but in the sense
he intended, it was a falsehood.
Having entered Egypt, we find the Egyptians
saying —" this woman is very fair;" and her exceeding beauty fascinated  even the royal Pharaoh.
Then, again, when she was ninety years old, and
had gone with her husband into Philistia, such was
still her personal appearance, that Abraham feared
for his life, and again prevaricated, in a manner unworthy of him. There, without an effort on her
part, her beauty fascinated the king Abimelek —
thus kings acknowledged the magnificence of Sarah's
queenly beauty.
But what I ask you to consider, is Sarah's practical estimnate of her personal appearance-the effect her conscious beauty had upon her. As a
general fact, the beautiful woman is a proud woman,
a vain woman, an extravagant woman; oftentimes
impoverishing her husband by her lavish expenditures; in her infatuation, not remembering that




56          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
noble truth, trite though it be, that " beauty unadorned is adorned the most;" and therefore allows vanity and selfishness to run riot with her better nature; strives for general admiration; is happy only when surrounded by the incense of multi-.
tudes, which bewildering, intoxicating aroma renders her neglectful of plain every-day duties, in'somuch that beauty oftentimes becomes a curse, when
it is bestowed, and should be received only as a
blessing.
But consider Sarah in her resplendant loveliness,
and you see no such false estimate of its real worth,
no such baneful effect upon her character. It was
enough for her, that she was beautiful in the eyes
of those whom she loved, and who loved her. You
see no vanity, no artificial airs, no effort at display,
no foolish pride, but you see a modest, gentle, retiring, loving woman, presiding with bland dignity
over her numerous household.
Beauty any where is a gift of God, and not to be
despised.  But remember that physical beauty is
the lowest form, yet it seems most highly, and
therefore falsely prized.  But there is beauty in
mind, cultivated and enriched by knowledge; there
is beauty in disposition, gentle, confiding; there is
beauty in expression, which sometimes makes the
plainest features surpassingly lovely; there is beauty
in graceful, modest manners; and there is beauty
in a good life, a useful life: all of which as far sur



SARAH.                      57
pass mere beauty of complexion, feature or form, as
the diamond surpasses the paste.  And never forget, that in the sight of God  " a meek and quiet
spirit " is of great price; that the spirit of experimental Christianity, which brings out into higher
development every element of female loveliness, and
throws over the entire character its sweetest grace,
is its truest charm.
"For beauty alone ne'er conferred
Such a charm as religion has lent,
And the cheek of a belle never glowed
With a smile like the smile of content."
Indeed, the influence of the service of God, ex-s
panding the intellect, purifying and directing the
moral nature, leading to all the sweet charities of
benevolence, flings  a  halo of glory  around womanhood now, and will gem her with immortal
beauty, in the better world.   Well has it been
said"What is woman, what her smile,
Her look of love, her eyes of light?
What is she if she in her heart deride
The blessed Saviour?  Love may write his
Name upon her marble brow,
Or linger in her curls of jet,
The light spring flower may scarcely bend
Beneath her step; and yet, and yet,
Without this choicest grace,
She is a lighter thing than vanity."
I notice in conclusion, the circumstances connected
with her death.  In mercy, her life was lengthened
out, an hundred and twenty-seven years. What
3*




58          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
a ripe old age! And if she retained, as we have
seen, enough of beauty at tile age of ninety, to attract the admiration of a king, it is reasonable to
suppose, that her mature matronhood was blessed
with health and happiness.  She lived to see her
son-her Isaac, a pious, noble man.  She lived to
see how wron'g she had done, in distrusting the promise of a covenant-fulfilling God, and have her own
piety deepened by experience, until after a century
and quarter had passed by her, she stood on the
earthly harvest field, like a shock of corn fully ripe
unto the harvest. If her day at times had been
dark, at evening time it was light. Chastened by
discipline, and strengthened by trial, she was made
meet for the heavenly inheritance.  Her work was
done.  Her last hour came.  Her husband was
away from home-he saw not her dying glance-he
heard not her dying words. This may have caused
the gathering shades to assume for a moment, a
darker hue, but the glory beyond, bursting forth out of
an opening heaven, changed them all to brightness,
while through them she saw the angel of the cove.
nant waiting to receive her, and angel bands realdy
to sing the "' welcome home."  At Kirjatharba, in
the lovely vale of Hebron, her cherished home,
Death came to her, as a dark-robed messenger with
soft and quiet tread, and calmly trusting in her
God, she ascended from that earthly to the heavenly Canaan, that deathless clime, where



SARAH.                      59
"The soul, of origin divine,
God's glorious image,- freed from clay:
In heaven's eternal sphere shall shine,
A star of day!'
Her funeral is the first one, on the record of the
world's history. Her devoted husband, hearing the
sad intelligence, hastened home, and bedewed her
cold remains with his tears: while Isaac, now motherless, wept as every son ought to weep, who
loses a mother, for who can love us as our mother;
who can feel for us, as she who bore us? Of the
children of Heth, Abraham bought the cave of Macpelah, and there amid its sepulchral silence and
gloom, he laid the remains of his noble, devoted
Sarah, who from early maidenhood to old age, had
been true to him; his pious, deferential, loving
wife; whose beauty had been the ornament of his
tent: whose piety had strengthened his faith:
whose sweet companionship had cheered his weary
wanderings: whose cheerful cooperation had lightened his toils, and whose angel presence had been
the sun of his life.  We may conceive of him as exclaiming, when he took his farewell of her corpse —
" Calm on the bosom of thy God,
Fair spirit! rest thee now;
Even while with us thy footsteps trod,
His seal was on thy brow.
Dust to its narrow house beneath,
Soul to its place on high!
They that have seen thy look in death,
No more may fear to die."




60           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Now, my friend, let me urge you to remember
and imitate her piety, her loving respect for her
husband, her watchcare over her son, her womanly
and pious estimate of what the world esteems so
highly. And as she was prepared for the great
change-the change of worlds —so may'st thou —
"Sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."




R E BE  A,
Gen. 27: 13. "U pon me be thy curse my son."
FIDELITY to truth is a characteristic of the Bible;
especially is this so of its biographies. In the record
of the lives of even prominent religious men and
women, we have faithfully detailed not only their
excellencies but their deficiencies; not only their
virtuous but vicious conduct; not only their strong
and praiseworthy traits of character, but also their
weak and blameworthy ones. You can but feel, as
you read these records, that they are true to nature
-true to human nature-true to what you know
by your own experience and observation, fallen human nature to be. You read of heroic men, philanthropic men, pious men; you read of many good
women, noble women, pious women, but each and
all of them you find to have possessed the infirmities of fallen humanity; and the divine records of
all other characters plainly show them to have been




62         REPRESENTATIV E WOMEN.
just such creatures as ourselves.  I beg you hereafter, in your reading of this book, to observe how
clearly Shakspeare's language applies to its description of human nature; for you will find "'nothing
extenuate, nor aught set down in malice," but
faithful portraitures of all their shadows as well as
lights.  Before this lecture closes, you will see some
fearful traits of character developed; but let your
minds be prepared to properly appreciate the stern
truthfulness of the book of God, which publishes to
the race the errors and sins of His own people.
Fidelity is a trait in the character of God himself,
as well as of His book, and is required of all those
who profess to be His servants, and especially of
His ministers.
It has been suggested to me by a kind friend, that
some of my remarks on defects in female character,
in this course of lectures, may have already, or probably will give offence to some ladies in my audience. It is a matter of regret to any gentleman to
give offence to a lady: but I am sure that no true
woman can be offended with faithfulness in the dissection of female character and conduct: nay, I am
sure that they would be disgusted and justly offended
if they detected me trying to pamper their pride,
minister to their vanity, or press to their lips the
poisoned chalice of flattery. True women love to
hear the truth; they know the wisdom of the wise
man, when he said-" Faithful are the wounds of




REBECCA.                 63
a friend."  Whether I am their friend or not, my
private and official life must show. I would have these
lectures judged by this test-Are they true? are
theyfaitifulb?  If an affirmative verdict is given to
these questions, I can calmly leave the results with
you, and Him whose I am and whom I serve.
Rebecca, who was she? We are first introduced
to her in Mesopotamia, which was part of ancient
Syria, but is now embraced in modern Persia. It
was the native country of Sarah and Abraham. She
is introduced to us as a girl, of remarkable beauty
and maidenly purity. Her father Bethuel, was the
son of Nahor, and therefore Abraham's nephew.
She was living with her mother, whose eldest son,
Laban, according to the Jewish law of primogeniture, was, after the decease of the father, the head
of the family. She was an only daughter, the object of her mother's love, and her brethren's pride.
In the bosom of that family, she was blooming into
womanhood, as a beautiful rose, of fairest hue and
sweetest fragrance in some select garden, blooms
into beautiful maturity. But in all the visions of
the future, which her girlish imagination wreathes
with rainbows; in all her sweet dreams, she has no
true conception of the dignity which awaits her;
or the darkness which will envelope her last days.
Gentle and loving, artless and unambitious, prudent
and industrious, she is useful to her family, as well
as the object of concentrated maternal and fraternal
affection.




64         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
I must now change the scene. Five hundred
miles westward, in the land of Canaan, in a richly
decorated and furnished tent, sits an an aged Patriarch. You saw him  in our last lecture, in the
strength of his manhood, a hero warrior: a man of
wealth, a happy husband, a disconsolate widower,
weeping amid the silence and gloom of Macpelah's
cave. Now he is " old and well stricken in years,"
his cheek is furrowed, his eye is dim, his hair is grey,
and falls in wavy folds upon his venerable shoulders
Full well he knows that his body must soon sleep in
death, in the place he has already selected for it,
beside the mouldering remains of his beloved Sarah.
Through the open door, beneath the shadows of
primeval trees, he sees his son Isaac walking alone,
wrapt in meditation. Isaac is now forty years old,
a calm, meditative man. Before the Patriarch sleeps
in death, he would see that son settled in life, married. All around him are idolators, and with any
of them he would not have his son form a matrimonial connection. Suddenly, thoughts of his distant
early home come to his mind.  He has never visited it, since he emigrated with his young wife. Full
sixty years have passed away since then, and he had
heard perchance only by a passing traveller of his
kindred at home: of Nahor's family. His purpose
isformed; Isaac's wife shall come from where he
found his Sarah. But how shall this be effected?
Mesopotamia is five hundred miles eastward-there




REBECCIA.                65
are no railroads, no telegraphic wires. He- settles
upon his plan: he has a servant whom he can trust.
Eliezer is called-the charge is given; he is made
to swear before God that he will fulfill it.  The
servant states but one objection, and that relates
not to the weary journey to be performed on camel's
back, he would go to the ends of the earth to serve
his noble master: but with characteristic forethought he indicates it thus: c' Peradventure the
woman will not follow me;" but Abraham's clear,
strong faith answers —" The Lord God of heaven,
which took me from my father's house, and from
the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me,
and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will
I give this land; He shall send His angel before
thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from
thence. And if the woman will not be willing to
follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my
oath." Eliezer is satisfied: and taking a train of
ten camels, and also elegant jewelry, he departs
eastward, and journeys until he reaches Mesopotamia, the birth-place of his master.
It is sunset on the Mesopotamian plains'; Eliezer
arrives at the city of Nahor, and stops at a well outside the city. The surrounding hills begin to throw
their long shadows over the inter-vale: and while
the softened glory of an oriental evening bathes the
scene, the women come from the city to draw water. Now the noble old servant looks to the God




66         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
of Abraham for aid: he knows no one in that strange
land; how shall he know who of the many maidens
is to be Isaac's bride! In earnest tones he prays"0 Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee,
send me good speed this day;" let her whom I shall
designate, be " she that thou hast appointed for thy
servant Isaac, and thereby shall I know that thou
hast shewed kindness unto my master."  And lo!
before he has done praying, a maiden, fairer than
any he has yet seen, comes forth in ancient simplicity, bearing her pitcher on her shoulder. She
approaches the well and observes a strange cavalcade
there, but her maidenly modesty permits her only
to glance at it as she stoops to the water, like a
" white swan bending to the glassy wave."  But as
she arises erect, and places the pitcher on her fair
shoulder, where soft curls float lovingly from her
pure brow, she stands before the admiring Eliezer
in the fading light, the very impersonation of virgin
loveliness. He hastens to her side, and with bland
courtesy says-"' Let me, I pray thee, drink a little
water of thy pitcher." With the native politeness
of a true lady, she says, handing hifim the pitcher,
"Drink, my lord;" and while he drinks, she observes the thirsty camels: perceives that they are
weary with travel, her tender heart is touched for
them, brutes though they are, and she says, "I
will draw water for thy camels also."  The wondering Eliezer now asks-" Whose daughter art thou?




REBECCA.                67
Tell me, I pray thee is there room at thy father's
house for us to lodge in?"  Quickly she replies-" I
am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah,
which she bare unto Nahor;" and adds with genuine
hospitality, "We have both straw and provender
enough, and room to lodge in." And after having
received a gift, she runs homeward to communicate
the intelligence, while the aged servant of Abraham
and of God, bows in the gathering gloom and worships, exclaiming,' Blessed be the Lord God of
my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute
my master of His mercy and His truth; I being in
the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren."
Soon her brother Laban arrives at the well, and
says to Eliezer, "' Come in, thou blessed of the
Lord; wherefore standest thou without? for I have
prepared the house and room for the camels."  The
invitation is accepted-all is arranged for the night
-ut Eliezer will not even eat until he has told his
errand.  Wonderingly the family listen to this
strange story. Rebecca's heart beats more wildly
than ever before, as the servant thus urges decision
this very night; ".And now if you will deal kindly
and truly with my master, tell me, and if not, tell
me; that I may turn to the right hand or to the
left." Laban and Bethuel reply-" the thing proceedeth from the Lord; we cannot speak unto thee
bad or good. Behold, Rebecca is before thee, take




68          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
her."  And when Eliezer hears these words, he
again bows and worships Jehovah,  All now  retire for the night; Eliezer weary with travel and
joyful with success, falls asleep: but tell me, maidens, think you that young Rebecca slept that niglt!
Early in the morning the household is astir-Eliezer says,' Send me away to my master"-they beseech him to tarry a few days, he refuses, and with
joyful dignity, says, " Hinder me not, seeing the
Lord hath prospered my way: send me away that I
may go to my master."   The decision is left with
Rebecca-her brothers ask, " Wilt thou go with this
man?" On her reply to that question hangs her
life destiny-but she is prepared to answer-all
through the stilly watches of the past night, she has
thought of nothing else-her mind is made up, her
decision is formed, and like a true-hearted maiden,
whose life choice is made, with no foolish coquetry,
but while the roses of her cheeks deepen their rich
hues, and the long lashes obscure the brightness of
her downcast eyes, with womanly dignity she says,' I will go." And on that same day, taking her old
nurse Deborah, and her damsels, she went with him,
We have no record of that long journey.  But at
its close we are told, that as they approached Abraham's home, the calm, meditative Isaac, from his
field walk saw the returning train.  Rebecca too,
saw him, and asked, "What man is that, that
walketh in the field to meet us?"  Eliezer replied,




1REBECCA.                69
" It is Isaac."  Women only know, how that blooming, Syrian maid's heart fluttered as she saw, for
the first time, the man who was to be her husband.
With dignified modesty she covered herself with her
veil, and awaited the salutations of her betrothed:
joyfully he received her, and taking, her into the
tent his mother had occupied, "she became his
wife, and he loved her."  Thus endeth the maiden
life of Rebecca.  But I cannot leave this beautiful
narrative, without picking out a few  of the gold
threads of doctrine and instruction, which run
through it.
I. Think of the implicitness of Abraham's faith.
It had grown with his growth: it had passed the
ery ordeal of Moriah's sacrifice, until in his old age,
it was the strongest element of his nature. Hence
when Eliezer interposed an objection to his plan, he
told him how the Lord had ever been with him,
ever kept him, and why he should not doubt now
in his old age, the God of his youth and manhood.
With this example of implicit faith, before us, 0,
believers, join with me in the prayer, " Lord, increase our faith!" By such faith we put our frail
hands within the loving hand of the Almighty
Father. By such faith we please God, and become
heirs according to the promise.
2. Think of the appropriateness of prayer in
exigencies. Eliezer was not only a faithful servant,
but a shrewd man.  The picture of him  and his




70         REPRESENTATIVE WOMIEN.
weary camels in the dusk of evening, at the city
well-side, is a fine one; but its richest point is
where you see him, having done all that shrewdness
could suggest, meekly folding his hands and bowing
his head in prayer, to the God of Abraham.  He
had reached an exigency: and you feel that, as a
man who believed in God as a Hearer of prayer, and
a Helper in time of need, no exercise could have
been more appropriate.  0, ye who profess to be a
praying people, never forget that our God does hear
prayer: that He loves to listen to the cry of His
feeble ones for help; His bewildered ones for guidance. Does He hear the young ravens, when in their
loneliness and desolation they cry to Him in their
poor nest-home? and will He not hear the cry of
His own, loved, chosen people! Verily, I say unto
you, that He who heard Eliezer, and answered his
request, will hear and answer ours:
" There are God and peace above thee:
Wilt thou languish in despairS
Tread thy griefs beneath thy feet,
Scale the walls of heaven by prayer."
"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and He shall
direct thy steps."
3. Think of the importance, that sometimes
gathers around a few  hours of human life. One
day a Syrian maiden is quietly pursuing her accustomed duties, in her home, at the city of Nahor.
In the evening, as is her wont, she goes to get




REBECCA.                  71
water at the customary place.  How  little she
dreams as she wends her way to that well, perchance
warbling some air of her native land, that she is approaching her life-crisis: and while the soft breezes
from  the far-reaching plains of Padan-Aram  are
fanning her cheeks, as she trips along, she knows
not that a stranger is praying at the well, and that
God is listening there: she knows not, that as she
moves along, God's unseen hand is touching the
springs of great and sublime events, and moving
the keys of "untold destinies."   The morrow's
evening sees her the betrothed wife of Isaac-on
her way from her native to her new home: sees her
a " link in the golden chain which shall reach to
the Messiah."  Thus, sometimes, the destinies of a
life-time are crowded into an hour-thus, sometimes, our life crisis come upon us unawares. God
help us to be ready for them-and to pray, that as
the shadowy hour draws nearer,
" God may irradiate and purify
The spirit's inmost vision." * * *' *
4. Think of the clearness of the illustration here
presented, of the doctrine of an overruling Providence. In these scenes, free moral agents figure
freely.  Abraham acts with all his wisdom: Eliezer
acts with all his shrewdness: Laban acts with all his
prudence: Rebecca acts in all her purity-freely,
just as she thinks best; and yet, through their




72           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
voluntary actings, and by means of circumstances
apparently fortuitous, an overruling God develops
his own eternal purposes, and carries forward His
great plans of mercy.  Thus he worketh still: thus
"The great directing Mind of all ordains."
And all we need, in order to see Him  every where
and in all events, whether they pertain to us individually, or to our families, or to the community in
which we live, or to our nation, or our world;
whether these events be adverse or prosperous, joyous or grievous: all, I say, that we need, in order
to see Him thus, is a heart in sympathy with Him,
a mind instructed by Him, and an eye illuminated
by His grace.
5. Think of the examuple of courtesy and politeness 1here presented.  Had Rebecca been a modern
belle, when the stranger at the well asked her for
drink out of her pitcher, she would have turned
coldly away from  him, if she had not refused his
request with haughtiness.  Indeed, had she been
such an one, she had never gone to the well at all,
but had ordered a servant to bring water for her.
But in her fresh loveliness, and beautiful simplicity,
though she had damsels of her own, Rebecca waited
upon herself, and with genuine politeness, courteously responded to the stranger's request, and supplied the stranger's need.  It has been said, that
American females are less polite towards strangers




REBECCA.                  73
than those of Europe.  I very much dislike to believe this; but when in railroad cars, I have seen a
gentleman give up his seat to a lady, and take a
standee himself, for many a weary mile, and that
lady not acknowledge the politeness by a word or a
bow, but take it as a matter of right, and some
other such scenes: I have been afraid there was
some truth in the charge. Let the example of Rebecca at the well show the young females of America, that gentle courtesy and politeness, even toward
strangers, is not incompatible with maidenly modesty, but throws over it one of its sweetest charms.
"The stranger's heart! oh! wound it not!
A yearning anguish is its lot."
A kind word, a kind act either to a friend or
stranger, may seem a small thing to a selfish world;
but Jesus said, "' He that giveth a cup of cold water to a disciple in the name of a disciple, shall not
lose his reward."  Why did our Father cause flowers
to bloom over so large a portion of the earth? They
are not food, they give no shelter, they furnish no
clothing, they are of no absolute use, in the common
meaning of the term.  Wherefore then did the earth
by this command bring forth flowers?  To beautify
it! to enliven it! to fling a gladness and brightness over the world.! What flowers are to earth —
acts of kindness, of courtesy, of hospitality, are to
men. How often a gentle tone, a kind look, an act




74           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
of unostentatious politeness, a generous hospitality,
has filled a care-worn soul with peace, a stricken
heart with joy, a smitten spirit with gladness.
"Thou think'st it sweet, when friend with friend
Beneath one roof in prayer may blend;
Then doth the stranger's eye grow dim —
Far, far, are those who prayed with him.
Thy hearth, thy home, thy vintage land:
The voices of thy kindred band;
Oh!'midst them all, when blest thou art,
Deal gently with the stranger's heart."
The mnarried life of Rebecca now claims our attention.  I will first group together the biographical
facts. Isaac and Rebecca passed twenty years in
unbroken domestic peace.  Their wealth increased
greatly. Abraham lived with them until he died,
in the one hundred and seventy-fifth year of his age.
At the expiration of twenty years, two children
were born unto Isaac ~ both were boys; to the elder
they gave the name of Esau, to the younger, that of
Jacob.  Each of these, God foretold, should be the
head of a mighty nation; from Esau descended the
powerful nation of the Edomites, from  Jacob the
twelve tribes of Israel.  The boys grew to manhood.
Esau was a hunter, a man of the field;  Jacob a
plain man, dwelling in tents.  The birth-right was
in Esau.  By a shrewd manceuvre, Jacob obtained
it from  him. Afterward the family sojourne(1 in
Gerar.  The covenant made before with Abraham
was confirmed to Isaac, who became an old man and




REBECCA.                  75
lost his sight. A cruel deception on the part of
Rebecca and Jacob, embittered the last days of the
patriarch, broke up the family, and the sun of Rebecca's life set in clouds and darkness. The picture
I must now draw of her married life, is so unlike
that I have presented of her maiden life, that I
shrink from it.  That was light, this must be dark.
But although less pleasant, it may be more profitable.
Therfirst error she committed, was to indulge in
partiality toward one of her sons, Jacob.  True, her
husband was guilty of a similar partiality to Esau;
true, Jacob was a handsomer boy than his brother;
true, God had said, that the elder should serve the
younger.  But all this was no justification for her
partiality.  Esau was equally her son, with Jacob,
although he was not so good-looking as his younger
brother, and that partiality, unjustifiable on any
principles, was the origin of all their family troubles.
Such partiality, in any family, always works mischief; and yet, how often it is allowed.  How many
mothers, instead of bestowing their affections and
attentions on all their children alike, lavish them
on one, and that one the very child who needs them
least.  It is almost always the handsomest one.
Such partiality always engenders pride in its object, and jealousy and hatred among the other children. Esau early learned to hate Jacob: just because his mother showed him such partiality. 0,




'76         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
parents, if we are ever partial in our affections toward our children, let it be toward the weak one,
the homely one, the feeble one.  Then it may be
excusable: then the other children will not be injured by it.  But rest assured that in any other
case, partiality will damage those to whom it is
shown-will sow seeds of bitterness in your family, whose upspringings will over-shadow   your
household and fill it with troublous gloom. It affected permanently the character of Jacob, and made
Esau, who was constitutionally generous, what, perchance, he otherwise never would have been.
The second bad trait of character she developed,
was presurn2tion in reference to the promise of God.
Remember God had promised that " the elder should
serve the younger"-over that promise her maternal
heart gloated.  She did right in remembering it:
she did wrong in putting her own interpretation
upon it; an interpretation warranted neither by
the letter nor the spirit of the promise. But in her
hasty partiality, she did not stop to consider whether
her interpretation was the true one, or not.  We
know that she entirely misapprehended the promise,
for subsecquent history is its interpreter, and shews
us its designed fulfillment in the descendants of her
sons: those of Esau became the bondsmen of the
descendants of Jacob. The divine promise, therefore, had relation not to them personally, but to
their posterity; and her conduct consequently could




REBECCA.                  77
not, nor did not effect its ultimate fulfillment:
although she construed it to suit her own purposes.
She was determined Jacob should rule over Esau in
all things-she presumed to tamper with the promise, and tried, by means which God abhorred, to
work out, in her own time and in her own way, all
the good her ambitious heart desir:.ed for her favorite
son.  She therefore indulged in presumption, where
she ought to have exercised faith in the great God,
who is able in HIis own time, and His own way, to
fulfill all His own promises: for His " counsel shall
stand, and He will do all H]is pleasure."
She should have trusted God, and quietly discharged her duty to both of her boys. Such presumption is not found in Rebecca's life alone. We
are all too fond of taking care of God's business, and
neglecting our own.  We are afraid He will not do
what He has said He will.  We love to put our
puny  hands up to Omnipotence, and aid Him in
doing His work.  Let us not distrust, God: His
great hand is on the helm of the universe.  Wbhat
the Lord of Hosts has purposed, who shall disannul? Let us quietly and piously discharge our own
duty, and rememberHis purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter tasty,
But sweet will be the flower.




78          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his works in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
And never forget, that although He may overrule our presumptuous conduct, so as to execute
tHis purposes, as He didl in Rebecca's case, our
guilt will not be diminished thereby.  The guilt of
the crucifying of Christ was not thus diminished,
nor was Rebecca's.
The third and darkest feature of her married life
was deceptiveness and falsehood.
Her husband is now aged, infirm, and blind: he
feels the chilliness of death creeping over him: he
knows his body, worn out with the infirmities of
age, must soon lie in the repose of the sepulchre.
The spirit of prophecy is upon him; he would give
the patriarchal blessing to his sons: and the typical
covenant blessing to his favorite Esau, whom  he
sends to bring venison to refresh him, before he proceeds.  But meanwhile dark whisperings are heard
in another part of the tent: Rebecca, with a wild
eye and excited frame, is whispering black falsehood and cruel deceit into the ears of her favorite
son. It was a terrible thing for her woman's soul
to have thought-purposed, falsehood and deceit!
a sad work of moral depravation must have preceded
it! O, it was horrid, to breathe such mildew on the
spirit of her boy; and it was still more horrible to




REBECCA.                  79
urge him to the prosecution of her dark plot.  It
makes one believe, that she instigated Jacob to
take advantage of his brother's hungry and fainting
condition, to purchase his birthright with a paltry
price. At first Jacob's shrewdness suggested a difficulty; he said, " Esau, my brother, is a hairy man,
and I am a smooth man: my father, peradventure,
will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver'
and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing."  It would seem that this danger of a dying
father's curse would have deterred this plotting
mother: but no! she is desperate in her determination, and with tones tremulous with energy she
says, sc Upon me be the cutrse mny son."  This terrible utterance maikes one remember the language of
the Jews to Pilate, when they claimed the life of the
innocent Jesus: " His blood be on us and our childr-ien." Jacob, under this maternal influence, prepares himself and goes with timid step towards the
couch of his poor, old father. Isaac, for some cause,
is suspicious: but Jacob lulls his suspicions by telling falsehood upon falsehood.  When the blind old
man asks him, "W ho art thou?" he replies, " I
am Esau:" and there is one lie. He says, CI have
done as thou badest me;" and that is another lie.
His father asks, "' How is it, that thou hast found
it so quickly?"  Jacob says, "because the Lord
thy God brought it to me;" and that is another lie.
The blind patriarch, still unsatisfied, asks again,




80          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
"(Art thou my very son Esau?'  This, it would
seem, must have melted the heart of that deceiving
youth; but no! unfalteringly he answers, " I am:"
and that is still another falsehood. Then the loving
but partial old man, stretches out his emaciated and
trembling arms, and says, " Come near and kiss me,
my son;" and Judas-like, the supplanter stealthily
draws near and implants a traitorous kiss on the
shriveled cheek of his sire.  He r2eceives the blessing.  Rebecca's stratagem has succeeded; but her
soul, and her boy's soul, are crimsoned with guilt.
Esau returns: the plot is discovered.: Isaac bows
his head in grief: agonizingly the stalwart, Esau
" cries, bless me, even me also, 0, my father!" and
then lifts up his strong voice and weeps. But his
grief soon abates: it settles down into bitter hatred
of his brother; this hatred forms itself into a murderous purpose-I see him, with clenched hands,
fiery eyes and stern brow, as he says, " The days of
mourning for my father are at hand, then I will slay
my brother Jacob." All is now confusion in that once
peaceful home. The shrewd and plotting Rebecca
is frightened at the results of her own success: she
discovers Esau's purpose to kill his brother; and
therefore she sends him away to her maiden home
-to her brother Laban.  Thus endeth the record
of Rebecca's married life.
Before leaving it, as I picked out gold threads in
the record of her maiden life, so let me pick out the




REBECCA.                 81
dark- ones that are interwoven through this narrative.
Observe first, how little we can tell from what a
young woman seems to be, of what she may in after
years become.
What young woman ever developed a lovelier
maidenhood than Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel?
How artless and pure, delicate and refined, modest
yet polite, dignified yet courteous, she appeared!
Did she then, herself, think that she could ever be
guilty of such deceit?  Oh, no! and yet she did
become what in her pure days she would have despised. Who that saw her at the well of Padanaram, or in the tent at Beersheba, or in the groves
at Mamre, could have dreamed that she would stoop
so low.  And yet she did become faithless to her
husband in his old age; she did,become an artful,
plotting, managing, deceitful woman.  And how
many women there are, between whose maiden and
mature life, there is as little correspondence. The
ripe fruit has not met the promise of the opening
bud; they are what they themselves would once
have shuddered to think of becoming.
Observe next: the fearful consequences of wrong
doing, even where it succeeds in gaining its purpose.
Rebecca was a successful plotter; her end was
gained; but the consequences were1. Guilt in the sight of God.
4*




82            REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
2. She embittered the last days of her devoted
husband.
3. She sowed enmity in one of her children against
the other, insomuch that had not Jacob gone away,
the tragedy of Cain and Abel had been reinacted
in Gerai.
4. She broke up the peace and harmony of her
family.
5. She lost the society of her darling  Jacob,
whom  she had to send from home: whom  she never
saw  again, for she  died before he returned from
Haran.   A young lady has thus described Rebecca
bidding farewell to Jacob"And must thou go, lay darling son.
Light ofthy mother's eyes;
Her brightest hope of future bliss,
Her dearest earthly prize.
How many thoughts at this sad hour
Are thronging on my mind;
To draw more tight the cords of love
Around my heart entwined.
For thou wast ever at my side,
A comfort and a stayThy brother, like a roaming deer,
A wanderer far away.
And I had thought in death's dark hour,
To know that thou wast near;
To have thy soft and soothing tones
Fall sweetly on my ear:
To cheer me through the darksome road
Which leadeth to the grave,
And that thy hands would lay me low
In dark Macpelah's cave.




REBECCA.                        83
But thou must go-no more my ear
Shall hear thy gentle tone;
And I must live through weary years
Sad, childless, and alone.
No light from thee shall dissipate
Death's dark and fearful gloom;
And strangers' hands shall coldly lay
Thy mother in the tomb.
Nay, shrink not thou, my darling boy,
Nor tremble with a dread:
The blessing only rests on thee,
The curse is on my head.
Mine is the sin and punishment:
God's benison is thine;
O'er thee will heaven's dews descend,
Earth yield its corn and wine;
Nations and tribes before thy feet,
Shall bend the humble knee;
Thy brother's tribe and kindred all,
Be bondsmen unto thee.
This have I gained for thee, my son,
Who blesseth thee, is blessed,
And him who dares to curse thy soul,
On him shall curses rest.
And when thy brother's rage is cooled,
His anger died away;
And from thy father's house,
No longer need'st thou stay;
What though I may not see thy face,
Or hear thy loving tone,
One comfort still is left to meI bear the curse alone.
6. She is treated  by  Moses, the historian, with
neglect; for after the success of the plot, and the
departure of Jacob, her rname is never mentioned by




84          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN,
himn; he tells nothing of her after life-death or
burial.
7. She lost the respect of both of her children.
Esau, as if in defiance of her, married an Hittite:
and, sad to tell! even Jacob, for whom, in mistaken
judgment, she had done all, even he seems to have
lost his affection and respect, for he never returned to see her, while in Haran; and when he did
come back, when Esau and he were reconciled, he
did not even ask concerning her;  nay, hze did not
mention her name, or seek her grave.
Poor Rebecca! bitterly didst thou suffer for thy
partiality, presumption, and deceptiveness  0! let
females beware in view of her example.  Falsehood
and deceit are always, in the long run, as unprofitable as they are wicked, Let woman be true to herself-her God-true to truth; let her despise deceit,
as the abominable thing which God hates, and all
the honorable souls hate: despise it as that which
corrupts the entire nature; as that for which no
beauty of face, or form; no accomplishment of mind,
or manner, can compensate: and above all let her
abhor falsehood as a thing as low and mean, as it is
vicious.  What more mournful sight can you see,
or more deplorable wreck can you find, this side of
the rotten abyss of licentiousness, than a lying woman? I have read that a gentleman was engaged
to a lady; he admired her for what he thought
her to be; he caught her in a deliberate falsehood




REBECCA.                 85
-he withdrew his attentions-he said, "a woman
who is capable of deliberate falsehood cannot be my
wife."
Did he not say rightly? You, with one voice
reply, that he did. You abhor deceit and falsehood;
you will be true-hearted, as well as pure-minded;
you will not soil your womanly character by such
abominations; you will be what God meant you
should: models of purity, truth, and love; the
ever-beaming stars in the firmament of home; the
supporters of manhood's weakness, as well as the
source of some of our purest joys.




J0 C H E B ED,
ig~kt frritgdXfi    Rolct t
TRIUMPHANT IN TRIAL.
Numb. 26; 59. " And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed,
the daughiter of Levi, and she bare Amram, Aaron, Moses, and Miriam, their sister."
IN the first lecture of this course we visited Eden
in its primeval glory, and saw Eve, the mother of
us all, in her innocence, a happy dweller there; in
her guilt, miserably banished thence.  In the second
lecture we visited Ur of Chaldea; and with Sarah,
the spiritual mother of us all, journeyed to Palestine, to Philistia, and finally saw her remains tenderly laid in Macpelah's cave.  In our third we saw
Rebecca on the plain of Padan-Aram, a blooming
Syrian maiden; in the groves of Mamre, a happy
wife; and in the tent at Gerar, faithless to her husband in his decrepitude-a deceptive, plotting,
managing mother.  Very different are the scenes
which will now rise before us.  We have taken our
last look at Eden; at Mesopotamia.  To-day we




JOCHEBED.                 87
visit Egypt-the land of hoary wonders; the land
of the Pyramids-those grim  sentinels of Timepointing to which Napolean said to his army,
" Soldiers, from those summits forty centuries look
down on us;" Egypt, the land of ancient learning,
philosophic, scientific and historic; where mystery
broods over every thing; around the heights of rocky
Pharos, whose lurid fire threw its outgleamings upon
far-off Mediterranean billows; around the grand
temples of Iris and Osiris, with their strange rites;
over the wastes of desert sands environing it, out of
which rise wondrous sphinx and hieroglyphic pillars; through the deep mazes of labyrinthian catacombs, where crickets and kings are alike embalmed;
Egypt, the land of proud lines of kings-Nemenses and Pharaohs; the land which has been at one
time the asylum of the oppressed, and at another
the scene of the bitterest oppression.
In ancient times, warriors, like Darius, the Persian monarch, and Antony, the Roman General:
and in modern times, Bonaparte, the greatest soldier
that ever trod the martial field, visited Egypt at the
head of armed legions for conquest.  Travelers
from all countries, antiquarians, philosophers, poets,
historians, artists and pleasure seekers, now visit it
for reasons peculiar to themselves.  We go thither
to-day for a different purpose; we go to visit the
scene of a mother's trial, a mother's faith, and a
mother's triumph.




88          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
To every Christian heart Egypt is associated with
hallowed memories. There is one of tender interest, when Herod, the Roman Pharaoh, sought the
child Jesus, the Messiah of God-the Saviour of
man, that he might destroy Him, it was to Egypt,
by angelic direction, Joseph and Mary bore Him for
safety, and found it there.  Egypt gave shelter to
the world's SavTiour 
In its early centuries Christianity won some of its
grandest triumphs in the land of the Nile.  But
moral desolation now reigns there!  Christianity
owes it still an unpaid debt, which, heaven grant,
may soon be liquidated by the reestablishment of
the blessed'gospel.
Jochebed, the mother of Moses, the world's lawgiver, is the Representative Woman whose history
is our theme for this lecture.
The first question you ask is, " Was shie an
Egyptian?"  Verily not.  She was a woman of
Israel; a daughter of Levi. It will be well for us
to recall the history of her people, from the point at
which we left it in the last lecture.
Jacob, Rebecea's favorite offspring, was the father
of the twelve tribes of Israel.  You remember how
Joseph, Jacob's favorite son, was sold into slavery by
his jealous brethren. Do you know, that that is t7ze
record of thefirst sale of a man into slavery in the
world's history? You remember how Jacob deceived
Isaac; and that, when he, became old and infirm




JOCHEBED.                89
himself, how his sons deceived him! You are familiar with the story of the wondrous elevation of
Joseph-that pious young man, who remained true
to his God, when it seemed as if God had abandoned
him; that virtuous young man, who resisted temptation in its strongest form, when the danger of exposure seemed weakest; that noble young man,
whose character stands as a model for the young
men of all time: I say you are familiar with the
method by which God raised him from slavery to
freedom; from servitude to rulership; from the
gloom of a dungeon to the light of a palace; and
how, through his means, his father's family were settled in Egypt's fairest and richest portion-the land
of Goshen.
But at the period when our narrative commences
circumstances have vastly changed. Over an hundred years have passed away; Joseph and his immediate descendants are long since dead and forgotten. This people, however, have wondrously multiplied, insomuch that where there were but seventy
persons at first, in a century and a half they increased to five hundred thousand men, capable of
bearing arms, besides the usual ratio of old men,
women and children. They are no longer, however,
the rich and happy dwellers in Goshen, but the oppressed slaves of Egyptian taskmasters.
The king had become alarmed at their increase;
his alarm grew greater as he saw that no increase




90         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
of oppressive measures diminished their swelling
numbers.
The alarmed king discovered a new method for
stopping the increase of this dreaded people. Dead
to all the finer feelings of human nature, from his
gorgeous throne he issued an edict that each male
child born should be murdered; the edict further
required that Hebrew midwives should be the executioners of Hebrew boys. Vain! vain requisition!
they had women's hearts, and while they would have
revolted with all their women's energy from slaying the tender offspring of even their oppressors,
they would have died a thousand deaths ere they
would have imbued their hands in the innocent blood
of one Hebrew baby boy, each of whom, they well
knew, was peculiarly dear to their poor troddendown parents.
Pharaoh finds out that his edict has proven a
failure; but the plausible reason assigned by the
midwives deters him from punishing them. Though
foiled, he will not allow his bloody project to fail.
Another edict thunders forth from the imperial
palace; with the authority of autocrat he charges
not now the Hebrew midwives; not any particular
class of his officers; not any special class of his subjects; but the command is to "all his people,"
that they shall seize every male child born among
the Hebrews, and hurl him  into the remorseless
river! Oh i fearful is the sight! Enraged Egyp



JOOHEBED.                91
tians hurry to the dwellings of the hated Hebrews,
and seizing helpless infants, tear them  away from
their mother's sheltering bosoms, and throw them
into the ravenous tide: while the wails of helpless
infancy, the shrieks of frantic mothers, and the
groans of agonized fathers, all blend in one awful
chorus of woe!  Oh! it must have made angels
weep! and nature itself shudder to look upon the
swift flowing currents of the Nile, as they bore those
hundreds on hundreds of precious bodies to the jaws
of crocodiles, or far away to the dread depths of the
Mediterranean, there to become food for fish and
monsters of the deep.
Amid this scene, Jochebed appears.  Her husband's name was Amram, and both of them were
of the tribe of Levi. They had two'children at the
time this scene opens-a girl and a boy, both of
whom afterwards became historic characters.  The
names of Aaron and M[iriam stand prominent in a
leading portion of Jewish history —are embalmed
in our sacred literature, and are familiar as household words, wherever our Holy Bible is read. Miriam
was the first born, and when Aaron was three years
old, while terror, on account of the bloody edict,
reigned among the Hebrews; while Jochebedl, in
her lowly dwelling, hears voices and footsteps of
Egyptians searching adjoining houses-while pallidly listening to sounds of cursing and mocking,
intermingled with wild prayers and sobbing entrea



92          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
ties-while listening to the shriek of impotent infancy, she hears the sullen splash, and then the
screams of heart-broken mothers that tell her of
murder consummated; in circumstances like these
she awaits the appearance of another child with
trembling anxiety.
At length, another was added to the number of
her children; and, oh! when Jochebed was told
it was a boy, must not her poor heart have sunk
within her? must not pangs, which only a mother's
heart can know, have agonized hers, as she thought
of the almost inevitable fate of her child, born in
perilous times? or, did some white winged angel
direct from heaven, whisper to her, on her couch
of suffering, sweet words of hope?  At any rate,
with all the energy of a woman's desperation, and
in the exercise of a pious woman's faith in the God
of the poor, the weak, and the oppressed, she resolved to save her infant boy from the bloody clutches
of Egyptian butchers.
Tihe record says that " he was a goodly child."Beautiful he would have been to his -mother's eyes,
in any circumstances; but now, when there was
momentary danger of his being torn fromn her; he
doubtless appeared an hundred fold more beautiful.
But what shall she do?-how shall she evade the
keen search of maddened enemies?  I see her lift
her wan and tearful eyes heavenward; I hear her
cry-" God of my fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,




JOCHEBED.                93
help thy poor handmaiden in this the hour of her
distress." Jehovah hears and helps. Before her
mind a plan appears -she will hide him,  until the
storm be passed. Where she hid him we are not
told; where she could have hid him, so as to have
kept his existence a secret, I cannot conceive; for it
would seem that the usual cries of infancy would
have betrayed him; indeed, one such overheard by
a passing Egyptian, had proved his death knell.But she did, and during three long months, she baffled her foes, and kept her child fronm their grasp.
But alas! alas! she can keep him hidden no longer;
perchance she knows suspicions are abroad; perchance she has seen some wily Egyptian, watching
her dwelling, or listening cautiously near it, in the
stilly hour of night.  What shall she do now?
The babe must be removed; but whither? whither?
Again a plan comes before her mind; and how
strange a plan it was! how full of danger! She
determines to make a little ark, and daubing it
within and without with slime and pitch, and putting  her darling boy in it, she will lay it' for
safety amid the flags on the brink of the Nile. But
does she not know that worshipped crocodiles abound
there? Yes, but she will trust her babe even
among them, with God all around him, rather than
expose him to human murderers, from whom she
has no hope.  Her work is done. In the darkness
of the night, she places that precious ark, with its




94          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
contents, more valuable to her than the material
universe, on the river's brink: but she may not remain with him. I see her, as with heart-wringing
anxieties, and streaming tears, she kisses his fair
cheek, and commending him to the care of God,
leaves him alone, by the dangerous current of the
deep river; with no shelter above him but the starry
sky, and no sound around him, save the murmur of
the ever-flowing river, as it wends its way to the
great sea. Placing her daughter at a distance, and
charging her to watch her baby brother, she retires
to her home, now lonely, sad and desolate, and waits
with restless uneasiness, and sleepless anxiety, for
the morning's dawn.
Do you doubt that from her anxious heart, there
went up incessant prayer to the Omnipresent, that
He would cover her exposed babe with His sheltering wing?  What could calm such a heart but
prayer?  Ah! how little she knew, how dear to
the heart of God was that babe among the rushes'
how little she knew, what a link he was to be in the
chain of Divine purposes! —how little she knew,
that the babe she left on the river's brink-by the
eternal purpose of God was to be the Deliverer of
her people, the Lawgiver of the world!-how little
she dreamed of what that very river, through his
agency, would become! A poet hath said of that
boy, in that frail ark



JOCHEBED.                   96
6 What recks he of his mother's tears,
His sister's boding sigh, 
The whispering reeds are all he hearsThe-Nile soft weltering nigh
Sings him to sleep. But he will wake,
And o'er that haughty flood
Wave his stern rod, and lo! a lakeA restless sea of blood."
Morning dawns; the tops of the pyramids are
crowned, as with a coronet of gold —sunbeams glitter on the waving Nile, and entering the gorgeous
bed-chamber of Thermuthis, the monarch's daughter, break her royal slumbers; she resolves to bathe
in the lucid waters of the sacred river; and strange
it must seem, to anunbeliever in -special providence
she wends her way with her attendants to the very
point, where lies the concealed ark. As she walks
along, breathing the sweet fresh air of morning,
perfumed by the fragrance of flowering flags, her
dark eye rests upon a strange object among them;
her curiosity is aroused; she bids an attendant bring
it to her; she is obeyed-the ark is brought —the
light covering is removed, and lo! to her astonished
gaze, is revealed a babe, a bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked
babe; and the record says —" behold it wept." —
0, sweet eloquence of nature! more potent to her
woman's heart are those tears of helplessness, than
the stern edict of her royal father: for though at a
glance, she saw it was a child of the Hebrews, she
"had compassion on him," and resolved to save




96           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
him; and for this noble decision we bless her: yea.
the world blesses her to-day! For —
" No radiant pearl which crested fortune wears,
No gem, that sparkling hangs from beauteous ears,
Not the bright star, which night's blue arch adorn,
Nor rising sun that gilds the vernal morn,
Shine with such lustre, as the tears that break
For others woes down virtue's lovely cheek."
At this moment, from  her hiding place, young
Miriam  steps forth; and while her sisterly heart
beats more wildly than ever before, at the sight of
her brother discovered by the daughter of the monarch, who had ordered his death; hope springs up
within her, as she sees compassion beaming from the
face of Thermuthis; and timidly she ventures to ask,
" Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew
women, that she may nurse the child for thee?"
Thermuthis said " go," and " the maid went."
How joyfully she hurried homeward to bear this
strange news to her sad-hearted, pale-faced, anxiously waiting mother; and how that mother's heart
must have swollen within her; how it must have
melted with gratitude to the Hearer of prayer, at
the surprising intelligence! But perchance some
torturing fear remained, lest the news might be too
good to be true; and it was not until she had hurried to the river side, which she had left so mournfully a few  hours before:; it was not until she had
stood face to face with Pharaoh's daughter, and re



JOCHEBED.                  97
ceived back her own, her darling child, with the
commission —' Take this child and nurse it for me,
and I will pay thee thy wages;" it was not until she
had borne him again to her own home, that the last
dark fear took its returnless flight.
How changed is now the condition of Jochebed!
how clearly had her prayers been answered!  "' By
faith he was hid three months by his parents."
How  startingly plain had been the hand of the
Eternal.  Her son was safe, and her own subsistence provided for, out of the wealth of the oppressor
of her people. It is supposed that he remained with
his mother five or seven years: and that then he
was taken into the palace, and became the adopted
son of Therinuthis.  Of her we hear no more.  The
fair daughter of the haughty Pharaoh appears no
farther on the historic page. In after years when
judgment-plagues scourged the oppressor; when
lightnings, tempests, darkling: floods, bloody spectres, and crushing woes camie upon the house of
Israel's bondage, and Moses figures so conspicuously in the stormy scene, Thermu-this is unheard of.
But surely, thle beatitude of Eternal love was upon
her; for is it not written in the Holy Evangel —
"L Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy."
Nor do we read more of Jochebed; that she kept
up an acquaintance with her son, years afterwards,
I have no doubt.  Her direct work, however, for




98          REPRESENTATIVE WOMENo
God and his cause, her public historic relation to it
here ceased. She is brought out by the hand of
Inspiration from the indiscriminate mass of her people; we see her perform her great mission, and then
sink back amid the obscurity of the thousands of
Israel.  But you will agree with -me, that there is
enough recorded of her character, as a woman, as a
mother; as a woman of piety and great faith; to
make us feel that she was one of the ancient worthies, whose names are encircled with undying glory,
and whose life-records, though brief, are as full of
stimulus to our faith as of practical instruction to
our lives.
Before the biography of the mother of Moses
passes from before you, like a moving panorama, I
desire to fix your attention upon a few points of
special in-terest.
I. Consider the whole of thisfamily groujp. As the
biography of the mother has moved along panoramalike, we have noticed them individually; now, look
at the group. The husband and father, Amram, is
in the background of the picture, dimly drawn; you
see no strong point in him. He doubtless shared
his wife's anxieties; but we do not see him do any
thing to relieve them. It seems strange, that he
did not even make the ark of bulrushes, and prepare
it to receive his own child; for we read " that the
mother took the ark and made it water-tight by
daubing it with slime and pitch," herself. It would




JOCHEBED.                 99
seem strange, when all was prepared, and the babe
laid in the ark by his mother's hands, that Amram
did not carry it to the Nile, or even accompany his
wife on that desperate errand.
I very much suspect that he was one of that very
large class of easy, do-nothing husbands, who leave,
at least, all the cares of their household, especially
of their children, to their wives. I very much suspect that he belonged to that class of husbands
who' never fully enter into the feelings of their
wives; never fully sympathize with them; never
bear their fair proportion of family burdens.  But
let us not do him injustice.  Perhaps, poor man,
slave that he was! ground down by oppressive taskmasters, the manhood within was crushed, his spirit
broken: perchance hope had left him, and if so; we
may not wonder so much that he figures so little in
the scenes that have passed before us.
The next and most prominent on the canvass, is
the heroic wife, whose lofty spirit misfortune had
not bowed, but stood up erect, amid the stormy
gloom of her house of bondage, the energetic, fond
and loving mother.
The third figure is young Miriam, their first born,
their only daughter-the sweet watcher of the Nile
-whose mature womanhood, radiated with such intellectual and moral splendclr.
The fourth in the group is young Aaron, the
future high-priest of Israel, the founder of the en



J100        REPRESENTATIVE VOMENo
tire system  of Jewish sacerdotalship, which was
called evermore the Aaronite priesthood, of eightythree years of whose life we have no record, but
whose name was incorporated in the Jewish Ritual.
The last figure in the picture is young Moses, to
whom this name was given by Pharaoh's daughter,
because c she drew him out of the water."  And
what interest encircles that beautiful boy! lowly
born though he is; his early manhood is to ripen
amid the gorgeous palaces of kings and the profoundest learning of the world!  He is to be the
Liberator of a nation, the conqueror on many a gory
battle-field —the companion of Deity on the firecrowned summit of trembling Sinai, the promulgator to the world, of God's eternal law; and finally,
covered with honor and glory —the object of a nation's grateful admiration, in a good old age, with
his eagle.eye undimmed, and his natural force unabated, he is to thread his way alone to Pisgah's
loftiest height, and thence step up to his eternal
home in heaven.
WVhat a family group is this! After Joseph and
his brethren, God has given us the history of no
family of Israel, during two centuries, but this.
Does the world's records show any other family more
illustrious P
2. Consider the beauty of the illustration of a
mothler'8 lbve, presented in this picture.
How that love beams forth like an unclouded sun,




JOCHEBED.                 101
and bathes the whole scene in its mellow glory 
Doubtless Jochebed loved her dark-eyed Mliriam;
doubtless she  loved her first born boy -little
Aaron; but oh! that last one —  oses —born amid
such terrible danger —M1oses, her babe, so wondrously beautiful as to dazzle the eyes of royalty, yet
exposed to such a horrid fate: he called out the
strongest sympathy of her nature; he agitated the
deepest depths of her maternal heart; he drew out
all the strange tenderness of her being.   During
those three months that he lay hid away from others,
what exquisite joy her lonely care of him afforded
her.  And when she laid him tenderly in the ark
her own hands had made, and placed it on the brink
of the dangerous river; and when she must leave
him, though perchance rosy slumber lay softly on
his eyelids, she left her heart-with all its yearning
tenderness and deathless love —beside him, in his
shelterless and strange bed. And having placed the
watcher there, she had done all that the profoundest
ingenuity could devise or the mightiest love dictate.
Such, as a general truth, is ever a mother's love.
In the whole range of affections there is nothing
equals it in intensity or perpetuity.  A wotman has
said, I refer to Mrs. Hemans, who was herself a
mother, for none but a mother could have written
these lines:
" There is none
In all this cold and hollow world, no fount




102           REPRESENTATIVE  WOMEN.
Of deep, strong, deathless love, save that within
A mother's heart.-It is but pride, wherewith
To his fair son the father's eye doth turn,
Watching his growth. Aye, on the boy he looks,
The bright, glad creature springing in his path,
But as the heir of his own name, the young
And stately tree, whose rising strength ere long
Shall bear his trophies well. —And this is love!
This is mnan's love!-What marvel. you ne'er mado
Your breast the pillow of his infancy,
While to the fullness of your heart's glad heavings
His fair cheek rose and fell; and his bright hair
Waved softly to your breast!-You ne'er kept watch
Beside him, till the last pale star had set,
And morn all dazzling, as in triumph, broke
On your dim, weary eye. You ne'er smoothed
His couch, ne'er pressed your lips to his
When fever parched it; hushed his wayward cries,
With patient, vigilant, never-wearied love I
No! these are woman's tasks!"
Many of us to-day are motherless! we saw  our
mothers die; their death glances were full of love
for us;  we kissed  those lips  pallid  in  deathwhich so often, while yet we were unconsciouswere pressed to ours. Mournfully we followed their
rema'ins to the grave; soft be the breezes that
sweep over, and ever-fragrant the flowers that bloom
around their honored resting place!   Tenderly we
cherish their memories 
Young woman, have you a mother?  Young man,
bave you a mother?   I charge you before God, to
love, to honor, to cherish, to obey her!  Little dream
you, of the tide of love that swells in her heart




JOCHEBED.                103
towards you; little do you know how much she has
done for you! or how much she will do for you 
Though all others forsake you, she will not! The
greater your danger, the sterner your trials, the
darker your misfortunes, the heavier your sorrows,
the closer will she press her throbbing heart to yours
-the closer entwine its mighty tendrils about you!
Not many years hence you will see her in her coffin,
and then you will know what it is to lose your earliest. truest, best friend.  Study, then, by acts of
kindness, by words of affection, and above all, by
virtuous, God-fearing, Jesus-loving lives, to gladden
her heart and throw sunshine on her path to the
grave! and then, a dying mother's blessing will be
yours, and the holy benedictions of your mother's
God be upon you evermore!  Such is the advice
and pledge of the Holy Bible! Such is the advice
of all the wise and good.
It is a remarkable fact, that the one who loves his
mother, who honors his mother, is never a bad man;
she is never a bad woman.  Tell me how a young
woman treats her mother, and I will tell you what
her general character is. Tell me how a young man
treats his mother, and I will tell you what his prospects are, for time and a vast eternity.  Men who
have stood highest in the world's regard, have been
thus distinguished.  Olympia, the mother of Alexander, was a severe woman. Alexander's deputy,
Antipater, once wrote letters of complaint against




104        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
her to the Emperor. He replied, " Knowest thou
not that one tear of my mother, will blot out a
thousand letters of thine?" No grander scene occurred in the life of our Washington than the following: Immediately after organizing the government
he hastened to Fredericksburgh, to visit his aged
mother, who was sinking under disease. He said to
her, "' The people have elected me President, but
before I go to fulfill the mission, it was my duty to
come and bid you adieu: as soon as business will
allow, I will hasten to you." She interrupted him
and said, " You will see me no more; my disease
is fast approaching my vitals.  I hope I am prepared for a better world: but go, George-fulfill the
high destiny heaven has assigned you: go, my son,
may heaven and a mother's blessing attend you."
The President bowed his noble head and wept. The
brow- around which Fame wreathed the purest laurel virtue ever gave to man-relaxed from its lofty
bearing. That face, which could have awed a Rloman Senate in it.s Fabian day, was bathed in tears.
H[e never saw her more. But what an example has
he left to the young men of America!
Before leaving this beautiful pictures consider3. The impressive lesson of a mother's influence
here taught.
Great men have always had superior mothers~
This is true of almost every man whose name stands
high on the historic page, as a statesman or sage,




JOCOEBED.                105
philosopher or poet, warrior or philanthropist. Each
of the children of Jochebled possessed the elements,
and attained the elevations, in different degrees, of
true greatness.  Whose hand, under God, planted
in their young minds the seeds of those great principles which guided and moulded, and gave to immortality their lives?  W~hose but their mother's
hand? Who stood at the fountain head whence their
life-streams gushed forth, and directed them  into
those channels of God-honoring, world-blessing usefulness? who, but their mother?
Mark her influence, especially upon Moses. Thinl
of her circumstances, after Pharaoh's daughter had
consigned him to her charge.  The perils through
which he has passed have made him peculiarly dear
to her; and now she knows that he can remain with
her but a few years at most; then she must give
him up, surrender him to be the adopted child of
another; and that other, the daughter of the oppressor of her people; that other, a stranger to the
God she loves and worships; that other, an idolater.
She sees that worse perils than those of Egyptian
murderers, and Nile monsters, await her son. They
could merely harm  the body; these may ruin his
soul. She will do all a mother's industry and prayers
can do in the brief period she is to have him under
her influence.  She may feel justified in comparatively neglecting her other children, who are to remain with her, and bestow unusual attention andl
5




106        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
care upon him from whom she must part-too soon,
alas! at longest, perchance much sooner than she
anticipates. What a motive, then, she has to work
while the day of opportunity lasts I Will she not.
improve it?  Will she not bring all the powers
of her strong mind, her intense love, with ardent
prayers, to bear upon her great task?  Verily she
will!
Her first object is, to teach her boy a knowledge
of the true God-to make him abhor that idolatry
to whose most gorgeous fascinations he will be exposed.  To do this, she tells him cherished stories
of God's dealings with his forefathers-Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob and Joseph; she tells him of the covenant He made with them; and in simple yet
glowing language, the promises He had given; she
tells him that God foretold to his servant that Israel
would be in captivity hundreds of years, but that
the day of deliverance would dawn. And in order
still more to impress his mind with ideas of God,
can you not see her teaching him to bow his knees,
and fold his hands, and. join with her in prayer?
Can you not see her, as with radiant face she tells,
how God watched over his infancy, when so many
other children were hurled into the devouring waters?
Can you not see her, as again and again she takes
his little hand, and leads him to the very spot on
the river's brink, where she had hid him on that
dark night? and as she points to it, and the rushing




JOCHEBED.               107
waters, can you not hear her tell him how God protected him there —how God sent Pharaoh's daughter, and how God touched her heart with compassion
for his helplessness?
Oh! is it too much to believe, that she often
visited that never-to-be-forgotten place, and there,
where the sad wail of his lonely infancy had gone
forth on the still night-air-even there, cause him
to vow again and again that he would never forget
— never forsake her God and his God, who had
shown such tender care for him?
The period draws near when Thermuthis will
claim her adopted son. The day for his removal to
the palace is fixed —the parting hour is near;
Jochebed's prayers become more and more intense
-she wrestles with the angel of the covenant-her
faith prevails-dim visions of her son's future greatness beam on her spirit's horizon, rainbows of promise span the cloudy distance, for surely God would
not have called her son, preserved as by a miracle,
into the family of Pharaoh, unless He had a mission for him there, and thus prepare him for some
great exigency-perhaps the deliverance of Israel.
Assuredly do I believe that when she gave up her
son, God had given her the evidence that her boy
was safe, that he would be true to his oppressed people and their God.  Was he not so? Verily he
was! for, after having been educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, he arrived at manhood, and




108        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
his final choice must publicly be made-to him
were offered the blandishments of wealth, the dignity of position while living, and a pyramid for his
sepulchre when dead, but he chose " rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God;" he chose rather
to identify himself with the poor and enslaved people of his mother-became their deliverer, and led
them forth from the house of their bondage.
Pharaoh's daughter said to the Jewish mother,
a' take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give
thee thy wages;" and, noble woman that she was,
she fulfilled her contract.  But, oh! Jochebed, for
her care of her boy, received wages that Thermuthis
knew not.  Perchance she lived to see his manhood's
glory; perchance not. But she received, every day
that she did live, wages more precious than Egypt's
treasury could give; she received them in her dying
hour; they made her pillow soft; her death gloom
radiant, and to-day, with her son in heaven, she is
still receiving them, and will receive them during all
the cycles of eternity.
O. mothers, mothers! learn this lesson! have
Jochebed's care for your children; her industry in
teaching -them.  Have her God for your helper —her
faith for your reliance, and ye shall mould their characters, and " ye shall receive your wages."  "' Your
children shall rise up and call you blessed;" and
they shall be blessings to the world. John Quincy
Adams said, "All that I am, my mother made me."




JOCHEBED.                   109
John Randolph said to a distinguished Southern
statesman, "I used to be called a Frenchman, because I took the French side in politics. But though
this is false, I should have been a French Athiest
had it not been for one recollection, and that was
the memory of the time when my departed mother
used to take my little hands in hers, and causing
me to bow at her knee to pray,'Our Father who
art in Heaven.' " And many to-day, amid the cares
and busy strife of life, can sayO0, mother, sweetest name on earth,
We lisp it on the kneeAnd idolize its sacred worth
In manhood's ministry.
And if I e'er in heaven appearA mother's holy prayer,
A mother's hand and gentle tear,
That pointed to a Saviour here
Shall lead the wanderer there."




MIREE  IAM,
Exodus 15: 20. " And Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron,
took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women wvent out with her,
with timbrels and dances."
EVERY student of history, and every observer of
mankind, has noticed the powerful effect which physical influences, arising from climate or scenery and
local associations, historic or otherwise, have upon
the formation of physical constitutions, and mental
and moral character.  So obvious is this, that whenever wise men attempt to analyze a given history
and character, they always take into careful consideration the circumstances under which that history commenced and that character was formed.
We shall fail to-day of appreciating the queenly
Miriam, who stands at the head of the Prophetesses
of our God, in olden time, unless we patiently and
somewhat carefully call up before us the scenes her
young eyes first saw; the influences, physical, as



MIRIAM-                 111
sociational, and moral, beneath which her beautiful
girlhood bloomed into a magnificent womanhood.
Indeed, the land where Mliriam was born-which
was to Israel both an asylum and a house of bondage-where God's own people grew up into national
power, and by oppression were compressed into the
densest nationality; where Jehovah made some of
the sternest and most awful developments of miraculous energy; where Aaron, the first high priest,
typical of the great High Priest of our profession,
and Moses, the Lawgiver of the world, were born:
the land, concerning which some of the grandest
prophecies were uttered; where, in its early centuries, Christianity not only made some of its most
splendid triumphs, but raised up some of its most
eloquent advocates-this land is invested with an
interest to every intelligent Christian mind, which
pertains to scarcely any other portion of the world.
How strange are some of its natural features. It
never knew a winter, for it has but two seasonsspring and summer-the latter lasting from April to
November. Although rain never falls upon it, still,
its productive portions yield three harvests each year.
This productiveness is caused by the inundations of
the Nile, which Egypt's mythology placed among the
gods, whose regular overflows leave rich alluvial deposits on the sandy soil. Its atmosphere is strangely dry; insomuch that figures drawn on the external portions of temples, with a kind of cbalk, cen



112         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
turies on centuries ago, remain perfect unto the present day.  And then what objects of curiosity are
those pyramids.! the largest of which covers twelve
acres of ground, is six hundred feet high, and occupied an hundred thousand men, twenty years in
building.  We can but ask, Why were they built?
Was it for the celebration of mysterious rites, or for
sepulchral purposes, or were they to be symbolic
representations of great truths?  To us, they sinply appear towering up in their solitary grandeur,
as mournful monuments of useless ambition, as enduring proofs of the superior earthly permanency
of matter over man.
And what interest invests the ruins of its grand
old cities! of magnificent Thebes, of which Homer
thus sang"The world's great Empress on the Egyptian plains,
That spreads her conquests o'er a thousand states,
And pours her heroes through an hundred gates,"
Of splendid Memphis, and learned Heliopolis, and
Sais.  Then there were, you know, the treasure
cities, such as Ramesis. The grain now used in
Constantinople comes from Egypt; and during the
six hundred and fifty years that it was a HRoman
province, it was called " the granary of Rome."  By
the light of modern investigations, its ancient history is no longer a mystery.  A French Engineer,
with his pickaxe, turned up a block of black basalt
on the left bank of the Nile, upon which were found




MIRIAM.                 113
in three parallel inscriptions, the key to.the Hieroglyphic language, so that more is now known of the
minutiu of life in Egypt, under the Pharaohs, than
of life in England, under the Saxon kings. The
result is, that we have the outline history of those
peerless cities, which were rich in arts and science,
before Jerusalem, Tyre, Sidon, Athens, and Rome,
had an existence; or a single Phenician ship had
parted the waters of the Mediterranean; or Solon
taught, or Nurna mused, or Homer sung. In seventeen hundred ninety-six and seven, when Napoleon
invaded Egypt, he took with him philosophers to
examine its mysteries. They were all unbelievers
in Bible religion. They found on the temple of
Denderah, and also in Upper Egypt, representations
of the Zodiac, one of which they said, must have
been seventeen thousand years old, and the other
five thousand, when the Christian Era began. At
this scientific announcement, French infidelity raised
a shout of triumph: but their triumphing was
short, for Cbhampoleon, a keener investigator, found
on one of the rings the name of Augustus Caesar;
on the other that of Antoninus, so that it was demonstrated that the one was formed at or about the
time of the Christian era, and the other one huntired and forty years after it;.
It was in this region of antique mystery, that
Miriam first saw the light. The child of a family
of the Hebrews-which race had already been one




114        REPRESENTATIVE WOMiEN.
hundred and fifty years in slavery-she was born
with its fetters on her fair limbs, and its black
shadow on her bright spirit. Her childhood was
passed on the bank of the Nile, on whose ample
bosom  she saw floating the splendid argosies of
Egypt; around the bases of pyramids, sphinx and
lofty monumental pillars. She was early taught
that, though in bondage, she belonged to a people
who were in covenant with the true God, who had
promised deliverance to Israel, and foretold for them
a national dignity and glory, which should far surpass any that the world had ever seen. She was
early taught, also, by a fond and loving mother,
whose first-born she was, to abhor the'idolatry by
which she was surrounded, and to adore the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Such were the circumstances, physical, associational, and moral, under which young MIiriam was born and nurtured.
Her biography presents four scenes of leading interest, which I shall attempt to portray. The first
has been calledMIRIAM'S VIGIL AT THE SACRED RIVER.
This scene, I do not anticipate, will interest particularly only one part of my audience, and that
part will not be the wise, the deep-thinking men,
nor perchance the mature women; but it will be
the youth, and especially the young females present.
They, I know, will love to look with me at the




MIRIAM.                 115
young girl —Miriam, watching with  tearful eyes
her baby brother, alone on the brink of the deep,
wide river, where horrid crocodiles and other monsters abounded. They will remember the story, how
the wicked king resolved to murder all the boy babes
of Israel; how Jochebed, Miriam's mother, hid her
infant Moses three months; and when she could
keep him no longer safe, in that hiding-place, how
she took a little ark, like a cradle, made it watertight, and placing her babe in it, took it for concealment down to the river side, and placed it
among the flags; and that then she dared not'remain by it herself, for that would excite suspicion.
Do you recollect what that poor, sad mother did?
She called her little Miriam, a dark-haired, blackeyed, pale-cheeked, thoughtful girl, only seven
years old, and taking her little white hand in hers,
all trembling with emotion, led her to a grove of
palms, where, concealed herself, she might see any
one who approached the ark, and then said to her" Daughter, remain here, keep your eye constantly
on yon spot where I have had to leave your brother,
to keep him from the murderous hands of the Egypt'
ians, and if any thing occurs, come to me immediately; fear not, daughter, God will be with thee,
while thou art watching our darling."
Remember now it is night, past midnight.MOiria  is alone. All is still as death around her,
except the waves of the river, as they murmur sea-.




116         REPRESENTAT IVE WOMEN.
ward.  The night air is damip and chill; but there
she stands, on her lonely watch-listening, fearfully
and sadly.  0, how her heart yearns toward her
infant brother, down there among the flags! but
she may not go near him! —there she stands, hour
after hour, and, oh! that sister's vigil doth guard
that frail ark, as carefully, and more tenderly than
the watch of "a diademed archangel had done"!
At length, the maiden beholds morning penciling the
east, with her coloring of gold. Now she breathes
freer-the dangers of the night are passed —birds
begin to sing amid the palm trees-the warmth of
sunbeams draws out the aroma of flowers, and her
young heart's pure emotions gaish up to meet these
joyous influences.
But look!-her black eye dilates! her form
trembles! she scarcely breathes i for see! —yonder,
Egyptians are approaching!-they go toward the
river!-they are going directly toward where the
babe is! —they stop just there! and 0, God, they
have found the ark I What shall the poor sister
do?  Shall she return to her mother?  No! no 
the babe may be gone before she returns. A woman's energy rises up within her —she goes straight
to the Egyptians —and though she discovers the
dignity of Pharaoh's daughter-emboldened by the
compassion beaming from the countenance of Thermuthis, sweetly she asks —" Shall I go and call thee
a nurse of ihe Hebrew women" P  Wonderful to




MIRIAM.                   i71
relate, Thermuthis, passing by her own attendants,
accepts the offer of the little stranger girl, and says
C go" —and Miriam went.  Don't you see her, as
with dishevelled hair, and wild beaming eye, and
joy-lit face, she runs to her mother, and almost out
of breath tells the strange story? Accompanying
her mother, she returns-they receive the dear little
one, and blissfully forgetting the anxieties and tears
and loneliness of her night watch, she bows before
God with Jochebed, and blesses the Hearer of prayer.
We pass to the second scene, which we shall call
MIRIAM AT THE RED SEA.
Betwixt these scenes eighty-five years intervene;
and we shall fail of accomplishing one object of these
lectures-which is to follow the thread of Jewish
history-if we do not stop here, and briefly survey
the intervening events, which will form the grand
foreground of this scene.  At the age of forty, Moses
fled from Egypt to Midian; there, at the expiration
of another forty years, God appeared and commissioned him to go and demand of Pharaoh the liberetion of Israel. With. Aaron he returned, and fearlessly demanded of Pharaoh, thus —" The Lord G-od
of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee saying: let
my people go, that they nay serve me."  Haughtily
the monarch refused this demand.  Then came,
after the working of several miracles, those terrible
Iplagues, whose very record has struck terror into




118         REPRESENTATIVE WOMIEN.
the minds of believing readers.  Some there are, who
see nothing worthy of God in their infliction; but
we must remember the great object of these plagues
-it was four-fold.
1 —To confirm faith in Himself, as the true God,
on the part of Israel.
2-To constrain Pharaoh io release His people,
by shewing him the power of their God.
3-To inflict merited punishment for national sins.
4-And especially they were aimed at the overthrow of Egyptian idolatry.
"For the Lord said, against all the gods of Egypt
will I execute judgment."  Observe, how in accomplishing these purposes, each plague was aimed at
an idol god. They worshipped serpents: Aaron's rod
was transformed into a serpent, and swallowed their
juggling, serpentine rods. It is a fact, that the
ancients, by touching a point in the back of a serpent, could cause it to become stiff —for proof of
which I refer you to the " Americana Encyclopoedia,"
word " Asp."  They worshipped the Nile: even its
fish were sacred. God changed it to bloodl, and its
fish to putridity.  It had always been a source of
good to them; but lo! legions of frogs came up
out of it; thus out of their good came evil. Their
law was, that no one on whom there was lice could
approach their altars; and lo! the dust was smitten,
and this impure thing covered man and beasts insomnuch that the magicians themselves said, "c This is




MIRIAM.               119
the finger of God."  They worshipped Beelzebub,
the fly god; and behold, swarms of ravenous flies
entered all their houses, and corrupted their very
land.  They  worshipped  brutes-the bull, ram,
heifer, goat —but another plague swept away all
these.  They had a custom  of burning human
bodies and hurling the ashes into the air: thus
sacrificing unto Typhon.  Moses hurled ashes into
the air, and its small dust falling upon man or beast,
produced blains or boils. They worshipped the sun,
but behold, a darkness that could be felt, of three
days continuance, covered up the sun. They worshipped the elements, and behold, God sent roaring
thunders, destructive hail, and devouring fire, that
ravaged the land.  They worshipped a god called
Serapis, who, they supposed, protected their land
from locusts; but at the command of Moses, locusts
came like an overshadowing curse, and departed at
his bidding. Then followed one, more terrible and
grievous than any other, the dark wing of God's
death-angel stretched over Egypt, and slew their
first-born.  But this was just retribution; for had
they not murdered the first-born of Israel?  Now
God's object was gained. Israel rejoiced in the visible display of Jehovah's power, and were overwhelmed xwith a sense of his care for them. Egypt's
idolatry was humbled and crushed, Pharaoh's heart
yielded, and he said-" Gc, serve the Lord your
God."




120         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
The passover was instituted.  The iron door of
the house of bondage opened, and slowly and cautiously, silently the people, two and a half millions
in number, moved out, and journeyed toward the
sea, and encamped on its wave-washed shore. They
felt secure. But at the midnight watch, there were
s-trange sounds upon the still air.  Pharaoh with
chariots of war, and prancing horses of war, and
thousands of men of war, in'mighty mail," were
on their track; they approached not, however; for a
cloud settled down between the armies,' so that
the one came not near the other all the night."
Terrible alarm seized upon the people; black visions
of oppression and crushing toils, and hopeless bondage came up before them; but lMoses with a voice
like a trumpet, exclaimed-"Fear ye not, stand
still, and see the salvation of God," then he waved
his mlysterious rod over the billowy deep; and by
the power of Him who created them, the waves
rolled up like mighty scrolls on either side, and
stood there like walls of crystal, beside the path
opened for the redeemed to walk in.
With joyful hope, mingled with fear, the thousands of Israel silently marched through the parted
deep. Shudderingly, mothers pressed their little
ones closer to their bosoms, as they looked up at
the watery walls on either side. Finally, the farther bank was reached in safety; but as they looked backward, behold the Egyptian hosts with ex



MIRIAM.                 121
ultant shouts, and rumbling of chariot wheels, proud,
prancing horses, waving war banners, and pealing
war music, were pouring into the gorge of uplifted
waves.  Again were the people filled with wild
alarm': but'" deep called unto deep."  Hearken to
that noise of a multitude of waters, as the watery
walls fall upon the advancing army and banner and
plume, the horse and his rider, the crowned monarch
and the humble soldier, are engulphed in common
ruin; while the shrieks and curses of drowning
men, the death neigh of beasts, struggling in their
agony, mingled with the roar of foam-crested surges,
wail forth a horrid requiem over the enemies of God
and of Israel. Silently Israel looked on this terrific
scene, impressed deeply with its awfulness. But
soon they become conscious of their position, enrapturing joy fills every heart, wildly, rapturously husbands and wives embrace each other, and press to
their hearts their children, who are never to know
the bitter doom of slavery.  Standing now on God's
free soil. breathing the free air of liberty, they
throw up their free arms to heaven and make the
welkin ring with such shouts as only free men and
free women can raise.
All this, however, is only t/e foreground of the
second scene in the life of Miriam.  During these
eighty years we have not heard of her, but she hath
been with her people during all this period, sharing
their trials, sympathizing with them in their troubles,




122         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
supporting them in their despair, by fiery words of
indignation, and sweet words of hope. The fact
that it was her brother who faced the haughty king
-her brother, through whom God scourged the oppressor: her brother, who was their deliverer; this
fact, I say, must have made her an object of interest,
and increased greatly her influence among them.
Doubtless, she was to the women of Israel, very
like what Mloses was to the men; and then, remember God gave her the mysterious spirit of prophecy,
the strange power of foreseeing and foretelling future events; thus to her extraordinary intellectual
endowments was added this highest and most influential gift. Hence, when the murmur of joy on the
banks of the sea had ceased, and Moses and the
children of Israel sang that great anthem-recorded
in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus-Miriam appears
with her eye flashing prophetic fire, and her voice
ringing out like a trumpet peal, accompanied by all
the women with timbrels and with dances, in jubilant procession, chanting responsive to nMoses, —
6 Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into
the sea."  And her magnificent hallelujah, worthy
of a prophetess of our God, and of the grand occasion, made the solitudes of the wilderness around
them echo with joy, "while notes of rapture floated
melodiously over that solemn sea; now the deep
grave of an imperial army."  This song and response
were sung six hundred years before ouomer



MIRIAM.                 125
" The blind old man of Scio's rocky isle,'.'
swept from his immortal harp the Iliad, and yet in
its grandeur, it still towers heavenward, and thrills
us like a trumpet blast.  You have now before you
the second scene, with its heavy foreground, and
radiant figures, in the life of Miriam, the " First
Prophetess."  The record next presents to usMIRIAMIS SIN AND PUNISHIMENT.
The Israelites, led by " the cloud by day, and the
fire by night," had journeyed to thAe wilderness of
Sin, and encamped on its extended plain, on each
side of which were mountains.  There the standards
were unfurled and the Tabernacle set up.  Thus
located, they were in the vicinity of Sinaii, whose
bare and craggy sides had just been mantled with
gloom; its base, tremulous with earthquakes; its
summit crowned with a coronet of fire, around
which vivid lightnings and crashing thunders had
guarded the pavilion of Jehovah, while He gave His
Law to man.
Moses, Aaron and Miriam,  appear to have been
associated in the leadership of Israel.  They were
of one blood, and bound together, it would seem, by
ties indissoluble.  But poor, frail, human nature
-how frail thou art even in thy best estate 1  Miriam became jealous of the power of Moses.  Perhaps imperceptibly to herself, ambition had arisen
within her and slowly grown, until stifling all the




124        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
sweet affections of her womanly nature, and her
sisterly heart, it arrayed hter in opposition to her
noble brother. The jealousy within her easily found
ostensible grounds for itself without her. Perhaps
the primal occasion of her change of feeling toward
her brother, was his adoption of the suggestion
of Jethro, his father-in-law, by which the people
were divided into companies, and placed under the
charge of captains, so that her general influence
was, as she thought, much weakened. She professed, however, to be offended with Ziporah, the
Ethiopian wife of Moses; and her eagle eye perceiving similar elements at work in her brother
Aaron, she took him aside, and the record says,
" She spoke against Moses;" and appealing to the
pride of Aaron, she said, "hath the Lord indeed
spoken only by Moses? hath he not also spoken by
us?" A conspiracy was matured, but God's great
eye saw it all, His ear heard every word, and He
commanded the three to go up to the tabernacle.
What a —picture they present in that sanctuarybehold the three! Moses in the majestic calmness
of innocence, Aaron tremulous with conscious guilt,
and Miriam, pallid but firm.  The pillar of cloud,
radiant with Divinity, appeared, out of which issued
the awful voice of God, approbating his faithful servant, and condemning the conspirators. The cloud
disappeared, and as they turned and looked upon
each other —lo   the once magnificent Miriam was




MIRIAM.                 125
stricken with leprosy.  Overwhelmed with grief,
Aaron fell at the feet of Moses and besought him to
intercede for their sister.  Moses wept, and cried,
"c Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee."  The leper
trembled with grief, while she heard the brother,
whom she had injured, intercede for her; but God
refused to remove the punishment immediately, and
for seven days she was banished from  the camlp;
and then, deeply penitent, she was healed and restored to it an humbler, better woman.
My friends, what is the name we give to the sin of
which she was guilty?   It is the sinl of detraction
-the  sin of speaking against another unjustly.
This is the very sin she committed, and which is so
common now-a-days, that of depreciating others, of
detracting from their real merit in character and
conduct.  The Lord said to Aaron and Miriam,'" Wherefore were ye not afraid to speak against
Moses?"  Thus you see, it was this prevalent sin,
originating in secret and unacknowledged jealousy,
the sin of speaking against another in private, for
Miriam  spake against  Moses, to Aaron, privately.
O, what a cruel thing it was! It made Miriam forget her vigil at the Nile, when alone she watched
with tearful interest her brother, Moses; it made
her forget long years of sweet companionship with
him, and ten thousand kindnesses received from him;
it made this brave woman a conte?mptible coward,
for not daring to whisper her complaints in his own
car, she stabbed him in the dark.




126         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
The world is full of the sin of detraction.  It is
confined to neither sex.  Men there are, who, like
Aaron, are guilty of it; they tear down each others
fair fame, they disparage each others performances,
they are wonderfully critical of each others efforts;
and their unkind criticisms are not made to each
others faces, for each others benefit, but to foes, for
injury. How this sin abounds in the political world!
Detraction not only blackens the fair fame of the
living, but often, hyena-like, tears open the graves
of the honored dead, to feed its devilish appetite for
corruption.  And is not Miriam's sill found still
among her sex?  Is not jealousy, secret and unacknowledged, oftentimes the cause of that gossip,
where the weaknesses of others, their style of dress,
their manners, their expressions, are detailed privately to willing ears?
I yield to no man in my admiration of true female
character; I love the mother who bore- me with an
affection as deathless as my nature. I respect and
honor woman, as superior to my own sex, in virtue
and moral intuition.  I would rectify all the wrongs
they suffer, and defend all the rights which belong
to them.  But as an honest man, I must say, that I
am often astonished at the feebleness of woman's
sympathy with woman 1  I am  astonished that
women seem to have far greater charity for men's
sins than for those of their own sex!  I am astonished at the petty jealousies which so often disturb




MIRIAM.                   127
their social relations-at their " speaking against"
each other, by detailing expressions uttered in moments of unguarded converse, by criticising  each
others apparel and manners!  O, is it kind?  Is it
womanly?  Full well I know that but few intend
to be guilty of the sin of detraction-Miriam's sin.
I know with many, it is the result of thoughtlessness; but its influence extends much farther than
they ever imagine; it excites prejudices in the
young who hear it, which will live long after those
who uttered it are dead; it wrings many innocent
hearts, and they and God only know the bitter tears
that are shed on account of it.
Of course there is no danger of our being punished as Miriam was; but 0, there is a leprosy of the
soul, as well as of the body!  Let those of us who
think we stand, take heed lest we fall.  In those
seven days of banishment and disease, how her whole
life must have come up before her, and oh! how
bitterly she must have regretted that she did not
extinguish the first spark of jealousy she felt burning within    Ah! how bitterly she must have regretted that sin, so unworthy of her, as well as degrading to her.  Let us guard our hearts, and pray
with David, " Set a watch, 0 Lord, before my
lips."
"Full oft a word that lightly leaves the tongue,
Another heart unnecessarily has wrung:
And were the woulnd but present to the eye,
WYd xnoun lthe i pain tia t solace might defy.




128           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Was it a taunt-perhaps a thoughtless jestAn idle ripple on the vacant breast;
But thy shafts may yield a venomed death,
What need to speed them but a little breath!
We toy with hearts, as if the thousand chords
That vibrate to the touch of hasty words,
Could join our discords all the live-long day,
Nor any tension cause them to give way.
0, strike them gently; every human breast
Is by a secret load of grief opprest,
Forbear to add a note of timeless woe,
Where discords ever are so prone to flow."
MIRIAM'S DEATH.
As the Israelites journeyed through the wilderness they were cheered all along the weary way by
the prospect of a permanent-home in the land of
Canaan: promised in the covenant to their fathers.
Glorious were the visions of the goodly land which
floated before their imaginations; but Miriam, the
maiden, who, during half a century, had by inspirations from  God, been to her people in Egypt a consolation and a hope-Miriam, who had been their
prophetess, pointing to bright scenes in the misty
distance —long before Moses was their prophet —
Miriam, the leader of the women of Israel —the
poetess, the composer of their sacred songs —Miriam, the leading responsive singer at the triumph
of the Red Sea, having sinned, and thus blurred the
beauty of her mature womanhood, may never even




MIRIAMo                  129
see the land of promise —she must die! die in the
wilderness 
One hundred and thirty years have passed since
her birth —a long life-time! penitent for her sin,
and trusting in Jehovah, surrounded by her kindred,
among whom conspicuously stood her brothers, Moses
and Aaron, she died, and tenderly and weepingly they
buried her: and strange to tell, her brothers soon
followed her into eternity. Four months after Miriam's death at Kadish, Aaron slept the slumber
that knows no waking, on Mount Hor.   Some six
months after, on the heights of Pisgah, Moses died
and God buried him.  Thus the three distinguished
persons, whose acts we have recorded in the last two
lectures, all passed off the stage of human life in
one year; neither of them ever placed foot on the
farther side of Jordan, where the nation they had
delivered was to arise to the highest dignity of
power.  And thus, my hearers, hath it been in all
the past: how long soever the thread of mortal life
hath been stretched out, the icy hand of death hath
finally broken it.  Thus it is now, while I speak and
you listen, thousands are expiring, yea,
" Death rides on every passing breeze,
And lurks in every flower;
Each season has its own diseaseIts perils every hour."
All the ways of human life tend toward one com



130           REPRESENTATIVE  WOMEN.
mon end —the grave, the cold and silent grave.  Before his death, when all hope had departed, Daniel
Webster asked his son, Fletcher, to read this immortal verse, whose sad truth the dying statesman
deeply felt:
"The boast of Heraldry, the pomp of Power,
And all that Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave,
Await alike the inevitable hour,
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.'
"'Sure'tis a serious thing to die, my soul!
What a strange moment it must be when near
Thy journey's end, thou hast the gulph in view!
That awful gulph no mortal e'er repassed
To tell what's doing on the other side.
Nature runs back, and shudders at the sight,
And every life-string bleeds at thought of parting."
But, blessed be God, Jesus hath died and robbed
the monster of his sting; Jesushath died, and faith
in Him can take away the terror —illumine the darkness of the dying hour; faith in Hinm  gives sweet
submission to the will of God, without whose permission death hath no power.
Woman, sister, as surely as Miriam died, so surely
you must die! But 0, be a Christian, a true Christian V  Entwine the sweet affections of your heart
around the cross of Jesus, which was stained with
blood for your redemption; and then, timid and fearful though you may be, when the dread hour comes,
as come it will, when you must bid adieu to all you




MIRIAM.                      131
love on earth, as Miriam did, calm peace shall overshadow with its white wing your pallid frame, and
you shall be able to say to your own soul"Vital spark of heavenly flame,
Quit, 0, quit this mortal frame;
Trembling, hoping, ling'ring, sighing,
0, the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond Nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life."




RUTH,
Ruth I: 14. " Orpal hkissed, her mother-iz,-law, bad t Rult clave
unto her."
WE are constituted with an inherent love of
variety.  Monotones in music, similarity in scenery,
sameness in thoughts or even in expressions, soon
become wearisome.  We enjoy what is new, fresh,
different; hence we find that God, who fbrmed our
constitution, and created the world to meet its necessities, has given to it almost infinite variety.  It is
wonderful, that in nature there are no two blades of
grass, nor vegetables, nor flowers, nor leaves, nor
trees, nor hills, nor mountains, nor rivers, lakes,
oceans, nor continents: there are no two human
bodies, or faces, or minds, precisely alike. This feature characterizes the climates, the seasons: it is
not always spring, nor always summer, nor always
autumn, nor always winter, but they come to us in
beautiful succession —




THE YO'UN   WIDOW.                133
"The year leads round the seasons, in a choir
For ever charming and for ever new;
Blending the grand, the beautiful, the gay,
The mournful and the tender."
Their very diversity makes the whole year more delightful.  Variety always and every where, meets
our eye and ear; even
" The gloomiest day hath gleauls of light,
The darkest wave hath light foam near it;
And twinkles through the blackest night
Some solitary star to cheer it."
Indeed this seems to be a necessity of our nature,
as well as a desire.   I have read some where that
in Prussia, certain men were selected to sing particular notes, on stated musical occasions, and the
result was, that they all died of bronchitis. This
want of our nature is not only met in God's works,
but in His Word.  Truth is here presented in every
possible form, from the severest logical statement to
the loftiest poetical imagery: by means of history,
biography, conversations, psalms, sermons, prayers,
prophecies.
Does it not occur to you now, how various are the
types of female character made prominent in the
Bible? Think of those we have already considered.   How different in some respects was Eve
from Sarah; and Sarah from Rebecca; and Rebecca
from Jochebed; and Jochebed from  Miriam! and
the type of womanhood before us to-day, is still dif



134         EEPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
ferent from them all.  Connected with this one we
shall find no tragic elements; no terrific scenery;
no gory war incidents; no family dissensions, but a
character of singular simplicity and beauty, moving
in some of the dearest social relations, amid quiet
scenes of country life.
You will allow me to say here, once for all, that
I do not expect to interest you equally in each of
these lectures.  Your sense of justice, as well as
kindness towards myself, will cause you to notice, in
some instances, far more abundant and striking material is given than in others.  You will not expect,
me to make points of interest where there are none.
You will therefore judge of my efforts, not by comparing one lecture with another, but by what is done
with the material afforded in each instance.  For,
remember, I stand on this holy day, in this consecrated temple, at this sacred altar, not to tickle your
ears with curious novelties, but simply to excite your
interest in the Bible, and practically to do you good,
by depicting the biographies God has left on record,
and evolving the practical instructions they embody.
We shall find that the incidents in different lives
are as different as their characters: some stirring
and tragical, others quiet and unexciting.  As before hinted, Ruth belongs to the latter class; however, in contemplating scenes in nature, or on the
canvass, we sometimes experience more pleasure,
and receive more  profit from  viewing peaceful




THE YOUNG WIDOW.             135
landscapes, sleeping in the soft rays of the setting
sun, than we do from gazing at beetling crags and
lowering storm clouds, warring armies, roaring cataracts, or tempest-swept oceans hurling their surging mountains skyward.
I shall aim at presenting
The facts of this narrative, their development
of the special providence of God, and of certain
traits of female character.
This book, which bears the name of Ruth, merely
considered as a literary production, has been the
admiration of literary men in all ages. Even Voltaire, whose masterly mind was filled with prejudice against the Bible, and whose heart was full of
malignity against our Saviour, insomuch that his
blasphemous motto, indicative of his life purpose,
was, " Crush the wretch;" even he declared that
the book of Ruth " was a gem in Oriental history."
An English author of celebrity once proposed to a
company of lords and ladies, who knew more about
almost any other book than they did about the
Bible, to entertain them by reading a story of pastoral life-a work, he intimated-of rare merit.
Substituting fictitious names, he read them the book
of Ruth.  They were delighted with the beautiful
simplicity of the truthful narrative, and passed the
highest encomiums on the heroine, her decision, affection, modesty and piety. All were anxious to




136        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
learn the name of the author, who, they affirmed,
could grace any circle of literature and fashion:
but they were confounded and amazed when told
that this narrative of surprising beauty was found
in the neglected Word of God.  Fiction, with its
wondrous power, as developed by ancient or modern
novelists, has never produced a tale so truthful,
cofibining so many points of interest as this, which,
while it awakens the heart's deepest emotions, leaves
on the mind no stain that could soil an angel's
purity.
Before we consider it, however, we must look at
the Jewish history, from the point where we left it
in our last lecture, up to where this begins. lWe
left it at the deaths of Miriam, Aaron and Moses,
all of whom died during one -year. Shortly after
that the Israelites entered into the land of Canaan
and took possession of it, in the name of God, who
had given it to them by covenant with their fathers.
They were then a nation and needed a national government for the maintenance of law and order; a
government was established; God himself was their
king, and judges were appointed to be His executives. Such men as Joshua, Caleb, Ehud, Barak
Gideon, Abimeleck, and Shamgar, held this office in
succession. After Joshua, the duties of these men
were, in some respects, similar to those of our circuit judges; he had regular circuit appointments at
Gilgal, Mizpeh, and Ramah, where he administered




THE YOUNG WIDOW.            137
the laws.  This form of government lasted four
hundred years. It was during it that the scenes recorded in the book of Ruth occurred.
We are first introduced to a leading nman of the
tribe of Judah, Elimeleck, whose family consistel of
his wife, Naomi, and two sons, Chilion and Mahlon.
In consequence of a severe famine which devastated
Judea, this family removed to the Gentile country
of Moab, situated in the north-east part of Arabia,
Petrea, which was separated from Palestine by the
Dead Sea and the river Amaron, a branch of the
Jordan.  Shortly after their settlement a heavy affliction befell the family; Elimelech, the revered
husband and father, died in the land of the stranger,
leaving Naomi a sad widow, far away from the home
of her youth, the sympathy of her kindred and the
sepulchres of her fathers.  But in her affliction still
her two sons were left her; noble young men they
doubtless were, who did all they could to fill their
father's place, and soothe the grief-stricken heart of
their widowed mother.  Subsequently both of them
were married to Moabitish young women; the
name of one of the wives was Orpah, that of the
other Ruth. We may easily conceive of the happiness of that family circle, where love bound heart to
heart; and where the noble Naomi-whose name
means "amiable"-in all the depths of her maternal
fondness, and wealth of her long experience, was the
presiding, genius.




1 3(83     REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
But alas for the frailty of human joys! a cloud
darker than before is gathering over that happy
household; that united family circle is again to be
broken by the ruthless hand of the destroyer. All
unconscious is that poor widow, as she looks with a
widow's tenderness and pride on her orphan sons,
of the agony which is soon to wring her heart. All
unconscious are Ruth and Orpah,.those young wives
-rejoicing in the love of their young husbands,
While, by soft words and kind attentions, they try to
make their mother-in-law forget the sad loneliness
of her widowhood-that soon, in all their fresh loveliness they are to become widows themselves, and
experience an agony of which they never dreamed
be-fore.  But soon, alas! alas! remorseless death
came, where he had before left the print of his cold
skeleton foot, and bore away from mother, wife and
cherished home, both of the young husbands, to the
land of silence and gloom. WTVho shall tell of the
bitter sorrow and desolation of Naomi, Orpah and
Ruth, as entwining their arms around each other,
each herself a widow, they mingle their lamentations
and their tears. It was natural, that in these circum-.
stances of destitution, the thoughts of Naomi should
turn westward, to the home of her youth. Ten years
have rolled away since she left it a happy wife and
mother, to come with husband and children to the
land of the Gentile.  Now they are all, all dead;
and how natural it was that she should decide to




THE YOUNG- WIDOW.           139
return to Judea, where she hears that prosperity
abounds.  Her decision is formed; her daughtersin-law will accompany her to her father-land.  It is
easy to fancy these three widows, who are about to
leave forever the graves of their companions, before
departing, visiting those resting places of the dead,
and moaning mournfully there their sad farewell.
They commenced their longo and weary journey
Nestward; they had not gone far, however, before
Naomi suddenly stopped in the path.  A  new
thought has forcibly struck her-why should she
involve these two young women in her cheerless
destiny? they were Moabites; they were therefore
going from their native land, from the scenes of their
youth into a strange land, among a strange people.
It would seem that Naomi had not thought of this
before; but as soon as she does think of it, her
noble generosity rises above her grief, and she
says unto her daughters-in-law,' go, return each
to your mother's house: the Lord deal kindly with
you, as ye have dealt with the dead and with me.
The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of
you, in the house of her husband."  Then she kissed
them, and they lifted up their voice and wept, and
replied,,C Surely we will return with t1hee unto thy
people." But Naomi said, " Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me?"  "' Turn agait- go
your way;" and "they lifted up their voice and
wept again."  "And Orpah kissed her motl er-inIlaw, but Riuth clave unto her."




140        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Many days afterwards there was an unusual excitement in the little city of Bethlehem-Judah. Two
lonely females, with travel-soiled garments, entered
it: the one dignified and matronly, but with sad
and wan countenance: the other young and beautiful, even in her widow's garb. The city is moved
by the report that Naomi, whom the elders well remember, has returned: but in reply to their congratulations, sadly, and 0, how eloquently! the
aged widow said, " Call me not Naomi, call me
Mara, for the Almighty bath dealt very bitterly with
me.  I went out full, but the Lord hath brought
me back empty; why then call me Naomi, seeing
the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty
hath afflicted me."  How affecting is this picture!
There are those here to-day, who know the bitterness of Naomi's grief, for they have tasted it
themselves: they know the heart of a widow, for they
themselves have been widowed; they know what
it is to return to their childhood's home, pale, lonely
and sad, and even when made welcome there, to exclaim, " The Lord hath dealt bitterly with me."
Next we are introduced to C" a mighty man of
wealth," kinsman to Naomi, who is a noble specimen
of a pious, rich, country gentleman. He has extensive barley and wheat fields. It is now harvest time.
A fine scene it is, indeed, recorded in the second
chapter. Boaz, going out into the fields, exclaimed
to his reapers,' The Lord bless you," and the stalwart men, hearing the well-known voice of their




THE YOUNG WIDOW.            141
leader, unitedly replied, "The Lord bless thee."
The interest- of the scene deepens as Boaz, perceiving a strange young woman gleaning behind the
reapers, inquires, "Whose damsel is this?"  He is
told that it is the Moabitess damsel who came back
with Naomi. Kindly he addresses her, telling her
to glean in no other field but his, and assuring her
of his protection. Ruth is overwhelmed by his kindness, and asks, " Why have I found grace in thine
eyes, that thou shouldst take knowledge of me, seeing that I am a stranger?"  Boaz magnanimously
replies-and what a beautiful eulogium he pronounced upon her, " It hath been fully shown me
all that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since
the death of thy husband: and how thou hast left
thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy
nativity, and art come unto a people which thou
knewest not heretofore."  And then, pious man
that he was, he stretched his hands over her lovely
head, and looking heavenward, pronounced upon her
this benediction: "The Lord recompense thy work,
and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God
of Israel, under whose wing thou hast come to
trust."   Having charged the reapers to give her
food, and to drop some handfulls of barley on purpose for her, he returned to Bethlehem!
Joyfully that night, laden with barley, Ruth returned to Naomi, and told her all that had occurred.
The aged mother in Israel sees the hand of God in




142      REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
the matter: and understanding the law which God
had given to the Jews, which made it the duty of
an unmarried man to marry the widow of his deceased kinsman, she feels it to be her duty and privilege to use customary means to secure the consummation of this divine arrangement, between her
beloved Ruth and Boaz; for Ruth's husband was his
kinsman, and she saw it to be a strange providence
that Boaz, though mature and wealthy, was still
unmarried. The means she employed would be inexpedient now, but they were not then, because
they were customary; and in this case especially,
met the divine approbation. I shall not attempt to
conceal or pass over what occurred in the night,
on the threshing floor, during the time of winno-wi;ng
barley. Bu; you must remember two things.
First-That very much passed between Ruth and
Boaz which is unrecorded, for Ruth was sure that he
loved her, and that he was a pure, good man: and a
pure woman is never afraid of a/ pure man; her
keen sensibility and delicate intuition makes her
conscious of safety.
Second-All that she did was in accordance with
the direction of her stricken mother-in-law, whose
noble soul, purified by the fires of affliction, as well
as the grace of God, would have shrunk from advising her pure daughter, to do any thing which could
be at that time deemed improper, or even indelicate.
Sustained by the law of God, and the customs of




THE YOUNG WIDOW.              143
her people, she gave Ruth directions what to do.
Night came.  Boaz laid down and slept.  Ruth as
directed by her mother-in-law laid down at his feet.
At midnight, Boaz perceived a woman tlhere, and
asked, "'Who art thou?"  BWhile her heart fluttered
like a frightened bird, and every nerve trembled,
meekly she answered —" I am Ruth, thine handmaid; thou art, a near kinsman, therefore spread
thy skirt over thine hand-maid." This last expression is a Hebrew phrase in use, even at the present
day.  When a Jew marries a woman, he is said " to
throw his skirt over her," indicating that he takes
her as his wife, under his protection.  The language
of Ruth, therefore, was an appeal to.Boaz to do
what the Jewish law required that he should, take
her, as the childless relict of his deceased kinsman,
to be his wife.
Perhaps, however, you feel that there was something at least of unwomanly boldness in-this: but
circumstances will lead a pure woman to do any
thing, that is not sin.  Have you read that strange
incident, which Alison the historian records, as
having taken place during the c; Reign of Terror"
in France?  How you would shudder to think of
drinking a goblet of human blood! but he says that
a mob had seized an old man and his daughter:
they were about to murder him, but she plead so
persistently for his life, that some one of those inhuman monsters proposed that if she would drink a




144        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
goblet of warm blood, her father might live.  She
assented; and they brought the gory goblet-with
her own hand she took the horrid cup-pressed it
to her lips-drank its revolting contents. You
shudder to think of it, but M'lle de Sombreuil did
it, and saved her father's life! Remember the
mightiness of the appeal to Ruth's heart. Her
aged, poor, helpless, doting mother-in-law had advised it. A long summer, with her own hands Ruth
had supported them both: perchance she might not
be able to do this always, and then what will become
of them?  Now, she found springing up in her
heart intense love for the man, who had befriended
her in her poverty; and always treated her with
the tenderest delicacy: besides the law of a holy
God gave her a claim on him, as her dead husband's
kinsman, and therefore she did under those circumstances, what she would not have done in yours, any
sooner than would the purest and most delicate one
among you all. Boaz himself bore testimony to her
purity; for gentleman that he was, he kindly said
to the timid creature, who trembled at his feet,
" fear not,, for all the city of my people know that
thou art a virtuous woman."  Laden with the barley he gave her, she returned home. Shrewdly the
old mother, after hearing of the incidents of the
night, said to her now pale-faced and anxious daughter, " Be calm and quiet;" " for the man will not
be in rest, until he hav e finished the thing this day."




THE YOUNG WIDOW.             145
And sure enough, that very day, Boaz having obtained from a kinsman nearer than himself the right,
publicly gave his hand to the beautiful woman, who
already had his heart: and before the elders and all
the people at the public gate he said, " Ye are my
witnesses this day that I have taken Ruth, the Moabitess, the widow, to be my wife." The married
life of Ruth was unclouded.  The last days of Naomi
were full of calm joy; for when, the following year,
Ruth's first-born son was laid in Naomi's bosom, the
women of Israel congratulated her saying, " Blessed
be the Lord which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, who shall be a restorer of thy life,
and a nourisher of thine old age."
WATe are now prepared to pass to the second general
object of this lecture, which is to consider briefly the
developments of the special providence of God, presernted in this narrative.
As a preliminary matter, I ask you to remember
one great fact. God had purposed to give, not to
the Jew only, but to the Gentile, a Saviour. It
was important, therefore, that in the humanity of
that Saviour, there should be Gentile blood as well
as Jewish.  Up to this period, the line from which
Christ should descend had been purely Jewish. See
what occurs. A famine comes on Judea: driven
by it a Jewish family go to the land of the Gentile
Moab; a Jewish son marries a Gentile maiden; he
dies; the Jewish widow brings back with her to




1]46      RiEPRESENTATIVE WOMENo
Judea the young Gentile widow. There Ruth marries Boaz-in theibr son Jewish and Gentile blood
commingle-that son was Obed; the father of Jesse,
who was the father of David-the regal progenitor of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Thus
you behold, the Gentile widow, the sweet gleaner
of the barley fields of Bethlehem, the great-grandmother of Israel's minstrel king, and one of the ancestors of the world's Redeemer, who was the root
and offspring of David, the bright and the morningstar, whose hallowed radiance will yet fill the world
with peace and glory.
Eleven hundred and eighty-six years from the
birth of the son of Ruth, Jesus was born. Where?
at Bethlehem.  What Bethlehem?  This very one
to which Naomi and Ruth came in their poverty;
this one where Boaz and Ruth,were married, lived,
and died. Perchance on the very fields where Ruth
gleaned after the reapers, the shepherds watched
their flock by night 
6' When such music sweet,
Their hearts and ears did greet,
As never was by mortal finger-struck;"'
where an angel proclaimed the advent annunciation
--  Unto you is born this day, in the city of David,
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord;" and the
chorus of unearthly voices melodiously hymned the
Advent Anthem, " Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will toward men."




THE YOUNG WIDOW.            147
As from the small acorn, fling far fronl its parent
bough by the heedless wind, comes the majestic oak,
whose great branches brave the assaults of an hundred winters; even so  out of apparently insignificant events, such as those we have contemplated
to-day, comes forth by the decree of divine Providence great results affecting the destiny of the world
and the glory of God. Now see the connection of
Jews and Gentiles in the history of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in whose humanity both Jew and Gentile
blood commingled. Who first sought the infant
Saviour?  Not Jews, but wise Gentiles from the
east. And through his ministry, while its great
mission was to Jews, Gentiles " did eat of the crumbs
that fell from His table."  The former conspired
against him, clamored for his bloodcl, but the Gentile
Pilate condemned him to death, and Roman soldiers
crucified him. In His last command, before His
ascension, He bade the disciples go preach to " all
nations," beginning at Jerusalem.  At the great revival in Jerusalem, after Peter's sermon, Gentiles
from remote and various parts as well as Jews became the trophies of gospel grace.  Thus, as in the
humanity of Jesus, Jewish and Gentile blood mingling mlade one body: so in his earthly history both
were concerned, both participated in his death, and
by his atoning work, " he hath broken down the
middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile,
and made both one in himself."




148         REPRESEN TATIVE WOMEN.
Just here, I wish to call your attention to a strange
fact.
We are all accustomed to speak of Ruth as a
beauty. She is called, " Ruth the beautiful," and
you never saw an artist's ideal of this young widow,
which was not as exquisite as his skill could make.
it: but who ever told the world that Ruth was physically beautiful?  I confess my own surprise that
the book which bears her name no where says that
she was.  The Bible speaks of beautiful females —it
says of Sarah and Rebecca, that they were " exceedingly fair;" but no where are we told that Ruth
had a fair face, or splendid figure, or soft beaming
eyes, or gentle-toned voice; and yet,.these are
ascribed to her by all. Indeed in Literature this
young widow stands the very impersonation of the
loveliest type of physical womanhood. Still in her
biography there is not the first allusion to her personal appearance.  Why then has the world pronounced her beautiful?  Ah, the answer to this
question embodies a lesson to every female present.
It is because of the exceeding beauty of her character-her mind-her heart-her disposition-her life,
that has led the race to pronounce her lovely, without ever asking, whether her skin was fair, her eyes
bright, her hands delicate, or indeed any question
concerning her person.  So it is evernmore-the
highest type of beauty is never merely physical; it
is the outgleamings of internal virtues, of sweet
graces of character.




THE YOUNG WIDOW.                 149
" Aye, for the soul is better than its frame,
The spirit than its temple. What's the brow
Or the eye's lustre, or the step of air,
Or color, but the beautiful links that chain
The mind from its rare element. * * It sleeps beneath
The outward semblance, and to common sight
Is an invisible and hidden thing."
"Where these moral and intellectual elements exist
within a woman's soul, they will give such a sweet
radiance to her life, such an expression to her countenance, that whatever may be her physical configurations, she will be lovely in the eyes of all, and
most so in the eyes of those who know her best.
Ah! she ]has what will make her beautiful, when
her dark hair shall be white with the snows of many
winters: when the brightness of her eye shall be
dimmed with tearful sorrows, the rose of her cheek
faded, and the symmetry of her form gone. Young
woman, may that treasure be yours. Bancroft, in
his late discourse before the New  York Historical
Society, said of such women,'C Her presence in this
briery world, is as a lily among thorns." You
will now be more interested to proceed with me, in
the prosecution of the remaining object before us,
which is to develope the traits of Ruth's character.
1. She was unselfish.
This is developed in the whole record of her life,
from the moment we are introduced to her in Moab,
until the narrative leaves her in Bethlehem, the happy wife of B3oaz, the joyful mother of Obed. No where




150         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
do you see her laboring to promote her own interests
at the expense of others, or decorating her own person out of the hard earnings of others. When on
the road to Bethlehem, Naomi urged her to return
to her blood kindred, with whom she might spend
her days in plenteous peace; with the dignity of
the highest benevolence she refused, and voluntarily
identified her fortunes with those of her poor motherin-law, who was returning penniless to Judea; and
who felt herself to be, like the blasted fig-tree,
scathed, withered, and fruitless. And at Bethlehem, instead of seeking companions of her own age,
with whom to enjoy herself, she devoted her energies
to the support of Naomi, and with her own hands
earned their daily bread.
Selfishness is a mean, low quality in any one 
but in woman it is especially to be deprecated. It
deadens sweet sympathy, it shrivels up the affections, and penetrates her whole nature with an icy
coldness. It causes a woman to regard herself as
the centre of her own universe, the sun of her own
sphere, the idol of her own idolatry, and therefore
makes her offensive in the sight of a benevolent God,
ugly in the sight of all good men, in spite of a handsome face, an elegant attire, and unfit for the relations
in life she was created to sustain.  How terrible is
the mistake those parents are making, who are constantly cherishing the selfishness of their daughters,
by administering to their vanity, by loading them




THE YOUNG WIDOW.              51
with finery, and exempting them from duties which
they ought to discharge?  How many a mother
makes herself a slave, in order to make her daughter
a lady; wears out her own energies in order that
her daughter may loll away her time in laziness,
and waste her sympathies over the sickly sentimentalism of a shilling novel! And what a lady
such a girl makes!  A man who has regard for his
future peace and prosperity, had better marry a
great doll, on whose India-rubber face the red and
white paint legitimately belong, than marry her:
for what can humanity expect of a selfish wife, a
cold-hearted selfish mother?
2. Another characteristic of Ruth was the strength
and depth of her lovefor Naomi..
I do not know where can be found in the annals
of any literature, a picture so affectingly beautiful
as that which is here presented, (to which I have before alluded) of the three widows, when suddenly they
stopped on their way to Bethlehem. I do not wonder that ilt has been the admiration of all generations, who have gazed upon it.  With a slight effort your imaginations may reproduce it.  You see
Naomi with the lines age had already drawn upon
her face, worn still deeper now by grief. On one
side stands the fair Orpah, on the other the gentle
Ruth.  Sadly and tremulously Naomi says, " Go
my daughters, return each to your mother's house,"
and then, while big tears gushed from her dimmed




152         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
eyes; she stretches forth her emaciated hands toward
each, and adds-" The Lord deal kindly with you
as ye have dealt with the dead and with me." At
first both refuse to return; then Naomi reasons
with them-she tells them she is aged, childless,
and poor; that in their own homes, among their
own kindred, there were those who would cherish
them, while herself, a lonely widow, could promise
them nothing in the land of her fore-fathers.  Both
of them wept; Orpah went back, but Ruth stood
still. Naomi, turning to her said, A Behold thy
sister-in-law has gone back to her people; return
thou after her." She might as well have spoken to
the rock by the way-side, as thus to the gentle,
loving, weeping one beside her; whose tender feelings a word could move, but whose affections were
as immovable as the everlasting hills.  She would
have stood abashed before one wicked, impertinent
look, but for the mother she loved, she could face
misfortune in its direct form, unappalled. She was
fragile as the bending willow, but in her true love,
she was as firm as the rooted oak. 0, what a picture of the loveliness of true affection and generous
magnanimity is before us! When casting no blame
upon Orpah, she flings her white arms around
Naomi's neck, and weepingly exclaims, " Entreat
me not to leave thee, or to return from following
after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and
where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall




THE YOUNG WIDOW.            153
be my people, thy God my God." And it arises to
positive sublimity, when she adds —" Where thou
diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the
Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death
part thee and me."  Glorious woman! I wonder
not that heaven's richest benizons were on thee
during thy life; and that ever since thy death, thy
name hath been a fragrance to the world, and thy
character a model for thy sex!
Such affection is its " own exceeding great reward," and it always is recompensed in the admiration of men and the favoring providences of God,
though for a season it may lead its possessor into
obscurity, yea, even into toilsome poverty; the
dark shades of night's sorrow may overshadow her,
but the morning shall dawn, and joy come with it,
Especially ought such affection ever to be cherished
for the aged. Doubtless it was Ruth's sympathy
for the age and infirmities of Naomi, that gave
energy and decision to her love.  Such circumstances always present a mighty claim to the young:
and yet, alas, how many an aged mother pines, amid
destitution and loneliness, whose declining years are
embittered by the criminal neglect of daughters she
has cherished.
3. Industry was another characteristic of Ruth.
Remember, when she decided to accompany
Naomi, she well knew that the support of both of
them was to depend on her energies alone. Hence,
7*




1-54        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
as soon as they arrived at Bethlehem she proposed
to Naomi- " Let me now go to the field and glean
ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find
grace;" and she went forth, an humble gleaner in
the harvest-field-an occupation peculiar to the
poorest of the poor.  But did she lower herself, in
your opinion, by doing so?  Remember, she had
known better days-she had been delicately nurtured in the land of Moab-she had moved in the
circles of opulence, admired and caressed for her
beauty and virtue. But see, with what true woman's
energy she adapts herself to the condition in which
her unselfish love has placed her.  She has health,
she has decision of character, but she has no false
pride-no foolish ideas of mock dignity; hers is not
that affection which wastes itself in words; not that
devotion which expends itself in sentimental tears,
but does nothlitng for its object. Nay! had you seen
Ruth returning from the field at even-tide, singing
some sweet song of her far-off native land, bearing
in her own arms the fruit of her day's toil to Naomi,
you had seen golden rays from that sinking oriental
sun encircling her head; beams of conscious usefulness glancing from her dark eyes; the rose on her
cheek deepened to its richest vermillion, and her
modest tread, illustrative of the firmness of a true
woman in adversity. What a model is she for the
young of her sex! Too many young females of the
present day, have gotten the idea that labor is un



THE YOUNG WIDOW.                  155
ladylike —that true delicacy consists in soft, tiny
white hands and ignorance of work.  What Jesus
said of the lilies is emphatically true of them6 they toil not, neither do they spin:" all they eat
and wear is the product of others labor. And how
often such do-nothings in modern society look with
haughty contempt on the pure girl who supports
herself, and contributes to the support of her family.
An American poet hath described one such:
" Hark! that rustle of a dress
Stiff with lavish costliness;
lelre comes one whose cheek would blush
But to have her garments brush'Gainst the girl whose fingers thin
Wove the weary'broidery in,
And in midnight chill and murk,
Stitched her life into the work;
Bending backward from her toil
Lest her tears the silk might soil;
Shaping from her bitter thought,
Heart's ease and forget-me-not,
Satarizing her despair
With the emblem's woven there."
0, unknown to the great world, but known to
the great God, and to some of us, in this city, there
are noble, heroic, young women who, Ruth-like, are
living to purpose; devoting their energies to poorly
paid toil, but on whom is resting the benedictions of
heaven. Blessed, noble sisterhood! true heroines
of humanity! Let a brother's voice and a pastor's
sympathy cheer ye on amid a proud world's neglect,




156        REPRESENTATIVE WOMIEN.
God's noble women are ye t when your life's toilsome day shall be over, ye shall sleep sweetly, and
in the morning ye shall hear the plaudit, "Well
done, good and faithful servant," from your elder
brother, who in the days of His flesh sanctified toil
by the labor of His own hands.
Industry is as honorable in women as in men. It
was the pride of Augustus Csesar that his imperial
robes were wrought by the hands of his wife, sister
and daughter.  Alexander the Great, when advising the mother of Darius, to teach her nieces to imitate the Grecian ladies in spinning wool, showed her
his own garments, which were made by his sister.
The virtuous Lucretia worked with her maidens at
the spinning wheel; and Tanaquil, the wife of Tarquin, wrought woollen robes so well, that long after
her death her spinning instruments, together with
a robe of her manufacture, were hung up in the
Temple of Fame, as an example for Roman maids
and matrons.  This virtue is both commended and
commanded in the Bible.
4. The last and crowning characteristic here developed, is the piety of RBth.
She was not only unselfish, not only strong in her
disinterested love, not only a patient worker, but a
pious woman. Though born and nurtured amid the
idolatry of Moab, she abandoned her idol gods and
became a worshipper of Jehovah. In all that land
there was but one family that worshipped God —




T1HE YOUNG WIDOW.            157
that family was Naomi's, and it shone there like a
lamp in a sepulchre of gloom. With that family
she became allied; from them she learned of' God;
with them she bowed in worship.  She had never
seen the tabernacle with its sacred mysteries; she
had never beheld the skekinah, luminous with Deity,
resting on the mercy-seat; she had never heard the
deep tones of the thousands of Israel as they
hymned the praises of Jehovah: but from Naomi's
lips she had heard the sacred truth, and in Naomi's
character she had seen exemplified its hallowing effect! Thus her young heart was won, and she laid
its beautiful affections on Jehovah's altar.  Hence,
with all the intense earnestness of her nature, she
said to Naomi, though full well she knew that troubles were before her, and that bitter waters of aft
fliction might drench her shivering form on her way
to Canaan, "Thy people shall be my people, thy
God my God."  Religion imparted its highest sublimity to her character, and " like the morning star
glittering above the horizon, foretold the day of
gladness which should succeed the night of her sorrows."  Therefore it was, when Boaz blessed her in
the field he did so in the name of the God " under
whose wing she had come to trust."
0, young woman! is the God of Naomi and of
Ruth thine?  How much more you know about
HIim than they did. They had no Bible-full of the
revealments of the goodness, love and mercy of the




158        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Great Father-you have. To them God had never
been manifest in the flesh-to you he has —as a
Saviour from sin-an example of duty —the supporter in trial-the victor over death —the opener
of heaven.  Ruth had but one example of piety
before her, you have had many.  Have you made
the choice that Ruth made?   If you have, then
cleave to Him; as a true-hearted, loving daughter
of Zion, say ye to her, " Entreat me not to leave
thee," "for where thou goest, I will go;" "' thy God
shall be my God." If you have not, I beseech you
by all His tender mercies, by the blood-streaming
cross of Calvary, by the sacred Spirit that strives
with you, to seek Him now, bow before Him, and
dedicate your life to Him.  Hear now the voice of
thy Father, "Hearken, 0 daughter, and consider,
and incline thine ear, forget also thine own people
and thy father's house, so shall the king greatly desire thee, for He is the Lord thy God, worship thou,
Hinm."




END OR'S WITCH,
dG~  Wtmale  BgitltatXsT
1 Sam: 28: 7. " Behold theere is a woman thab hatch afamiliar spirit
at Endor. 
" Since we have spoken of witches," said Lord Byron, i" what
think you of the witch of Endor? I have always thought this
the finest and most finished witch scene that ever was written
or conceived, and you will be of my opinion if you consider all
the circumstances of the actors of the case, together with the
gravity, simplicity, and density of the language. It beats all
the ghost scenes I ever read."-Kennedy's Conversations with
Byron.
THE subject of this lecture has been chosen, not
because of any novelty that may pertain to it: but
because it is deemed essential to the completeness
of our course. In previous lectures we have grouped
the Bible history thus far, around six female representative characters. In our lecture on Eve, we
glanced at the chief events of the first two thousand
years, during which she was the only prominent wo



160         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
man. In our second, on Sarah, we traced the history from the exodus of Abram from Chaldea, to his
settlement and death in Canaan; a period of about
two hundred years. In our third, on Rebecca, we
traced it to the removal of her son Jacob and his
family into Egypt. In our fourth, on Jochebed, we
continued the history up to the birth of Moses: a
period of one hundred and fifty years. In our fifth,
on Miriam, we followed it during the remaining
eighty-five years Israel was in the house of bondage,
and continued it until the death of Moses, on the
borders of the promised land. In our sixth, on Ruth,
we glanced at the Jewish history during the four
hundred years that they were presided over by the
Judges. We have now arrived, therefore, at the
record of the reign of Saul, who was their first king.
In this part of Bible history, no female stands out
so prominently as the Witch of Endor.  This fact
renders it my duty to make her the leading object
of this lecture: a duty, the difficulties of which I
deeply feel; and to which I address myself with
diffidence, but without shrinking.
In this record three names are presented to qus;
those of Samuel, Saul, and the Witch. Let us glance
at these in their order.
Samuel, you will remember, was one of the last
of the Judges. His history is one of the purest,
noblest, on any record. He was the son of the pious
Hannah; who took him to the tabernacle at Shllilo,




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.        161
with a thank-offering, and said to Eli the priest,
while she held the beautiful child in her arms, "For
this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my
petition which I asked of him: therefore also have
I lent him to the Lord, as long as he liveth he shall
be lent to the Lord."  Thus, pious mother that she
was, she dedicated her child to God. He remained
in the tabernacle, and spent his youth and early
manhood in its sacred services. Subsequently he
was elevated to the Judgeship of Israel, and administered the laws during twenty years, so as to meet
the approbation of God, and promote the highest
interests of the people. He was also honored with
the gift of prophecy: so that he was not only a civil
Judge, but a spiritual Guide.  Moreover he presided
over the school of the prophets at Ramah, with dignity and success. When old, he appointed his sons
Judges. They, however, walked " not in his ways,
but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and
perverted judgment."  Israel dissatisfied, and influenced by the example of other nations, demanded a
king. This was painful to Samuel, and offensive to
God; for he said to His aged servant, while smarting under the ingratitude of the people, " They have
not rejected thee, but rejected me from reigning
over them."  The Prophet Judge anointed their
new king, and while he lived was by his side as a
living conscience. He died at the age of ninetyeight: but before his death he assembled all Israel




162         REPESENTA1TIVE WNlOMEN.
at Gilgal, to hear his farewell address. It was a
grand scene. Before the gathered thousands, the
aged man, with white flowing locks, venerable form,
and voice tremulous with solemn emotion, arose to
make his final speech. It is recorded in the twelfth
of his first Book. I commend it to you. Do not
fail to read it. I can only quote a few verses. And
Samuel said unto all Israel, "' Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me,
and have made a king over you. And now behold,
the king walketh before you: and I am old, and
gray-headed, and behold, my sons are with you 
and I have walked before you from my childhood
unto this day. Behold, here I am, witness against
me before the Lord, and before his anointed:
whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken?
or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to
blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it
you."  How exalted the eulogium on his character,
conveyed in the response of the people-" Thou
hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither
hast thou taken aught of any man's hand."  Soon
after this he died, and was buried with-national
pomp at Rnamah, and all Israel made lamentation
over him. In all the annals of the Gentile world,
no character so nearly resembles his, as the Grecian
Aristides-surnamed the Just: who after holding
high place of trust, was condemned to exile by his




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.       163
own countrymen, and died in poverty, but with an
unsullied fame.
The next person named in the record before us is
Saul. Glance we at his history. He was " the son
of Kish, a mighty man of power."  Of young Saul
it is said, " He was a choice young man, and a
goodly."  And this is recorded of his personal appearance: " There was not among the children of
Israel a goodlier person than he; from his shoulders
and upwards he was higher than any of the people.":Endowed with extraordinary intellectual power, in
addition to his physical superiority, he was extremely popular; and to the eye of the Jews, longing for
a kding, he was their very beau-ideal of royalty.
The account of Samuel's first interview with him in
relation to the matter, is very interesting.  We are
told that when the aged prophet said to the noble
youth, " On whom is the desire of all Israel?  Is
it not on thee and thy father's house?" Saul heard
it with marked modesty: for instead of eagerly
seizing the crown held out before him, meekly he
replied: C Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest
of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of
all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?  Wherefore speakest thou-so unto me?"  Subsequently a
national convention was held at Mizpeh, and he was
chosen, by lot, to be the King of Israel. When the
result was made known, the venerable prophet
stood up with young Saul before the gathered re.




164        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
presentatives -of the'nation, and said, pointing to
the king, " See ye whom the Lord hath chosenthat there is none among the people like him."And the mighty crowd, swayed by tumultuous
joy, shouted," God save the king!"  He was then
anointed by the prophet, and for a time was true
to his God. During that period, as a king, he was
wise in counsel, victorious in battle, popular at home,
and honored abroad; but a woful change came over
him. Popularity pampered his pride; gratified
ambition made him self-conceited and self-reliant.
He forsook God. He chafed at the faithful rebukes
of Samuel, usurped the priestly functions of the
prophet, and resolved on war without consulting
God. Before his death, the faithful Samuel, then
an old man, wearing a mantle, thus addressed him:
"' Thou hast done boolishly. i-Thou hast not kept
the commandments of thy God. Thou hast rebelled, and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft; therefore, because thou has rejected the word of the
Lord, therefore He hath rejected thee 1"  The king
saw his faithful friend no more, for he was gathered
to his fathers in Itamah.
Months rolled on, but Saul was a changed man.
He became morose, gloomy, and revengeful; insomuch, that with his own hand he endeavored to
murder David, his- son-in-law. He ordered Doeg
to slay eighty-five priests of the Lord, and became
so utterly depraved that Jehovah, seeing that he




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST,        165
was "joined to his idols, let him alone."  And then
the Urim became dark; prophets were silent, and
dreams and visions disappeared.  He was abandoned
to his own heart, the heaviest curse that God can
inflict on mortal.  The remaining person brought
before us in this record is the Witch.
This woman belonged to that class of persons
which has existed in almost every age of the world,
and are called by different names. In the Bible we
have the following enumeration of different classes
of these characters, the origin of whose arts is unknown, but whose highest developments were
reached in Egypt, and from thence spread through
the world.
There was the "user of divination:" a mode of
gaining knowledge of future events, employed
among the tribes of the south part of PalestineEzekiel 21: 21 specifies three of the means they
employed-arrows, sculptured images, and the entrails of animals.  The " observer of times," or of
dreams, was another who, by this method, common
in Egypt, Assyria, among the Israelites, and the
Greeks and Romans, sought supernatural knowledge.  The " enchanter," or serpent charmer, v.
Psalms 58: 45; the "witches" and "sorcerers,'
composed most dangerous classes in Canaan, and
are so fearfully condemned in Ex. 7: 11; 2 Kings
9:22; Numb. 23: 3; Jer. 27: 9; Mic. 5:12.
The " charmver," by the power of song-a method




166         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
of soothing the nervous system, now used in the
East-mentioned by Xenophon as common among
the Greeks; and according to 1 Sam. 16: 23 and
Ps. 58  6, Were numerous among the Israelites.Then there was the " consulter of familiar spirits"the ventriloquist-alluded to by Pliny and the Latin
scholiast —persons who exerted a nervous influence
on boys, by causing them to look intently on vases,
-from which they seemed to call the spirits of the
dead, while really they only spoke from their own
abdomens.  These are mentioned in Isa. 8  19,
29: 4.  There was also the "necromancer," or
consulter of departed spirits, referred to in Deut.
18: 11. And besides these, we find "' astrologers,"
star-gazers, and monthly prognostications mentioned
in Isaah 47: 13.
Now I beg you to observe the strange fact, that
this Bible, which so many people now-a-days profess
to think behind the age, still has grouped together
all the forms of witchery, enchantment, divination,
necromancy, &c., that the learned world yet knows
of. Observe the view of the character of these manifestations presented in the Bible.
The reality of mysterious phenomena is admitted.
It is stated that by means of these different
methods, a real, mysterious influence was exerted,
causing strange sounds, strange sights, and mysterious results-as the changing of the magician's rods
in Egypt, were produced. And let any one study, in




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.       167
connection with the Bible, the history of Egyptian,
Grecian, Roman and Indian magicians, soothsayers,
jugglers and wonder-workers, and he will assuredly
conclude, that the mysterious manifestations of the
present day are still far behind what has been seen
and heard in ancient and modern times, in other
lands. For in almost every land and every age, the
operation of these occult agencies has been witnessed
and commented on by men most eminent in science
and literature-by Franklin and Hale, by Walter
Scott, Salverte and Thompson, by Galen, Pliny and
Cicero, by Plato, Socrates and Zoroaster, as well as
by Moses, David and Isaiah, Luke and Paul. The
admitted facts are no where ascribed to supernatural agencies. Those causes are not always explained;
they are admitted to be mysterious, originating in
the deep-hidden laws of nature, scientific skill and
artful management, operating upon the nervous element in the physical constitution, and the superstitious element in human minds.
But a third point in regard to the Bible view of
this mat ter, is of immense importance, viz: that a
resort to such means to obtain knowledge is everywhere condemned.
Isaiah viii: 19.  C And when they shall say unto
you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and
unto wizards that peep and that mutter: should
not a people seek unto their God? for the living to
the dead?"  Deut. xviii: 10, 11, 12.' When




168         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
thou art come to the land which the Lord thy G0od
giveth thee, thonu shalt not learn to do after the
abominations of those nations.  There shall not be
found among you any one that maketh his son or
his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth
divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with
familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For
all that do these things are an abomination unto the
Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord
thy God doth drive them  out from before thee."
Lev. xx: 6. "' The soul that turneth after such as
have familialr spirits, I will set my face against that
soul, I will cast him off from his people:" 27. " The
man or woman that hath a familiar spirit shall surely
be put to death."   Consult also xviii: 12, 14.
Hosea iv: 11, 12.  So in the New Testament, in
the account of the rich man and of Lazarus, Jesus
says, " If they believe not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose
from the dead." Now the woman at Endor belonged
to one of the classes I have mentioned. She was a
necromancer, who professed to be able to call up the
spirits of the dead. WVomen of her class had marked
peculiarities.  They were generally advanced in
years; deeply versed in human nature; acquainted
with all the weaknesses, hopes and fears of the
human heart; possessed of high nervous organizations, great nervous and nmagnetic power.  They




TEH FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.        169
were also familiar with exciting drugs, and their
mysterious effect on body and mind. Further, they
were the keenest possible observers of men and passing events. And I ask your attention to this factthey were always wicked women, abandoned by their
own sex, living alone, and devotees of the lowest
forms of idolatry.  Such was the one before us.
Her very name indicates that she was a devotee of
the god of Ador.
Observe now, these necromantic women did not
profess to call up the dead by the agency of Satan
or of inferior demons: but by the power of their
gods, who were their "familiar spirits," and who
were idol gods, and therefore had no existence.
Another fact to be remembered is, that these sorcerers possessed the power of what the ancients called
Engastrymysme, that is, the power of speaking from
the stomach, or ventriloquism.  Plinly says, that
in the temple of Hercules, at Tyre, which was located in the very country where the Witch of
Endor lived, on the border of the Mediterranean,
there was a consecrated stone, out of which gods
were said to arise, that is, strange apparitions appeared, to which the attending priestess, by the
power of ventriloquism, gave voice.
The last and the highest power possessed by thes.
persons, to which I have now time to refer, was this,
the capability of putting their minds at will, in such
a connection with the minds of those wio consulted
8




170         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
them, that they knew what was passing in their
minds. This power, possessed by persons of (a certain nervous temperament, can be traced through
all the records of the past. We call it animal magnetism, clairvoyance, the nervous principle or psychology. It is demonstrated now, beyond a doubt,
that by mysterious but purely natural influences, a
person of a certain nervous organization can: be
placed, at will, in such connection with another,
similarly organized, that the mind of the latter will
be open to that of theformer —the former willfeel,
see, and know just what the latter feels, sees, knows.
Let me give you a reliable fact. Eliot Warburton,
Esq., one of the finest scholars of the age, in his
book of travels, entitled  c The Crescent and the
Cross," states, that at Cairo, he engaged a magician
to visit him, who performed the following. A boy
was called in, and, after some ado, was made to look
intently into his own hand; the magician gazed at
him fixedly, working himself up into a great excitement; at last he said the charm was complete, and
told Warburton that any one he asked for would
appear.  He asked for Sir Henry Hardinge;-the
boy said " He is here," and described him correctly,
as a little man in a black dress, white cravat,: grey
hair, and having but one leg. Then W. asked for
Lord E-n: the boy said, " He is here," and described him accurately-as a long man, with green
glasses, bending forward. Lablache and others were




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.              171
called, and appeared to the boy, who had been placed
in psychological connection with Warburton by the
magician, so that he saw what was in the consulter's
mind.
In the July number of the American Journal of
Insanity, Dr. Bell, one of the-most learned physiologists and keenest investigators of the times, gives
the results of his examinations of modern "Spiritual
phenomena."  He treats the whole matter with candor, and affirms that the spirit theory must be given
up, for after the most extensive investigation he is
satisfied that " what the questioner knows, the (so
called) spirits know; and what the questioner does
not 7know, the (so called) spirits are entirely ignorant of."The Witch of, Endor had that power-as well as
all others of her class-haggard, godless, abandoned
* If any one wishes to examine this subject further, I refer
him to the following works:-' The Spiritual Medium," by an anonymous author, who styles
himself " Traverse Oldfield," published in Boston. I acknowledge
my indebtedness to this work, and earnestly recommend it.
"Buyers' Northern India."
"Elements of Physiology," by J. Muller, M. D., translated from
the German, by W. Baly, M. D.
"Philosophy of Mysterious Agents, Human and Mundane; or
the Dynamic Laws and Relations of Man," embracing the Natural
Philosophy of Phenomena, styled " Spiritual Manifestations."
By E. C. Rogers. In five parts. No. 1, 1852.
"Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy," by Sir J. F. N
Herschel.




172      REPRESENTA IVE WOMEN.
though she was. And the developments of this,
before those who do not possess the power themselves, and are ignorant of its existence, produce the
same effect in modern that they did in ancient times.
They are readily ascribed to the spirits of the dead.
The first object of this lecture is now accomplished. You have now before you Samuel, Saul, the
Witch, and their individual callings and characters.
We -are now prepared to contemplate the scene in
the record before us. Remember, the faithful:Samuel
is long since dead, and gone to heaven. Remnember
Saul's condition.'He is abandoned by God; the
blood of eighty-five murdered dead is on his hands.
He has rejected God, and God has rejected him.The hearts of Israel are alienated from him, in consequence of his unjust and cruel government, and
are already entwined around young David, whom
Samuel has long since anointed king; and in whom
Saul has long beheld a successful rival, and vainly
sought to murder. He is morose, sad and gloomy.
He eats no food, and has grown weak and pale. His
ancient national foes, encouraged by the disordered
state of his kingdom, flushed with hope, will attack
him on the morrow. They have marched unresisted
to the centre of his country, and as he has gazed
upon them, he has trembled beneath the conscious
certainty that he was doomed-lost-forsaken by
man-abandoned by God.
Night overshadows the earth: but not so black




THE FEMALE SPIRITTUALIST.      173
is its gloom, as the darkness that fills the soul of the
miserable king.  Of whom does he now remind you?
Do you remember Shakspeare's -Macbeth? It would
seem as if the immortal bard must have had the
history of Saul before him, when he wrote that terrific tragedy. Think of the parallel between Saul,
the king of Israel, and Macbeth, the king of Scotland. Both arose from low stations. There was a
time when neither of them ever dreamed of royalty.
Both were men of mark, but treacherous and cruel.
Both were warriors. Both were murderers of their
own guests: Saul in purpose, was guilty of the murder of his guest, David; Macbeth in deed, for he
imbued his hands in the blood of Duncan. Both
were the cause of other murders; Saul bade Doeg
kill eighty-five priests: Macbeth hired a villain to
waylay and slay Banquo. Both hunted the innocent, and slew them  because of jealous revenge,
Macbeth slew the helpless wife and children of Macduff: Saul hunted like a bloodhound Abiather for
favoring David. Both sought to cement their tottering thrones by blood. Both had evil spirits;
the one in his own soul: the other, in the form of
an ambitious, tempting, murderous wife. Both
came into desperate straits.  Both were pressed by
armedfoes. Both were abandoned by men and God.
Both in their dire extremity resorted to witches;
Saul at gloomy Endor; Macbeth on the blasted
heath, amid thunder and lightning met the unearthly hags



174         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
"Black spirits and white,
Red spirits and gray."
Both died unnatural and tragical deaths, by means
of the same weapon-the sword.  The heads of
both were cut off as trophies.  Tile i:jured Macduff bore in triumph the ghastly head of Macbeth;
and the Philistines, the day after the battle, cut off
Saul's head and put it upon the walls of Bethsheban.
Tracing this parallel no further, I must ask you
to look at a different view. Starting from  Mount
Tabor, we go southward four miles, until we reach
a ravine, deep-sunken, and buried now  in dark
shadows of overhanging woods. WVe pass down into
the dismal shades, and in a dreary dwelling, near to
which we see no human abode, we find Endor's
witch, a lonely hag, the dread of children and good
women; hedged around with a circle of evil rumors;
a wretched outcast from human society; an outlaw,
judged worthy of death by civil and divine governments. The dead hour of midnight has arrived.
She hath heard no sound save
"The owl's screech and the cricket's cry."
But look at her; she hears a noise; it is the sound
of approaching footsteps; her sunken, keen black
eyes dilate-she scarcely breathes —she knows that
Saul has put to death all of her craft his officers
could find, and now unknown steps are stealthily




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.        175
drawing near. A low knock is heard at her door:
calmly she opens it, and a tall man, muffled up in
his robe, enters, followed by two attendants.  He
asks, in a low voice, "' Bring me him up whom I
shall name unto thee."  The keen woman suspects
a snare, and replies, "Thou knoweth that Saul
hath cut off those who have familiar spirits, wherefore, then, layest thou a snare for my life, to cause
me to die?"  He assures her upon oath that he
will not betray her. Her suspicions are allayed.She fixes her magnetic gaze upon the pale face of
the man before her, whose nerves arle excited to
the highest degree, and who, having eaten nothing,that day or night, is a most admirable subject for
psychological and magnetic operation-whose mind
being wrought up to the intensest interest, his will
being entirely submissive to hers, what modern medium could have wished for an easier subject to operate upon? But mark: all is still as she gazes
with her snaky eyes into his pale face-until the
nervous and magnetic union between them is formed;
and lo I she sees all that s in his mind! iRemember, he came there to see Samuel. Remember, the
old man was in Saul's mind, as he last saw him,
with his venerable locks and mantle. Remember,
he was expecting to meet him, and therefore the
moment the magnetic union is formed, and the woman sees what is in Saul's mind, she exclaims, " I
see Samuel!" of course she did. She saw the ob



176         REAPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
ject most prominent in his mind; and then, immediately recognizing her consulter, she cries out with
affright. At this point the mass of readers and
commentators, in my honest judgment, have made
a mistake.
They have thought that the certain evidence that
Scamuel really appeared, is found in the fright of
the witch. I submit to you that this is an error;
for, remember, she was condemned to death by the
law of the land. Remlember, she was suspicious of
a snare as soon as she saw the three men, and would
not proceed with her incantation until assured upon
oath of her safety. Remember, that of no man on
earth had she such cause to be afraid as of Saul 
for the law condemning witches had been a dead
letter until he had put it terribly into execution. —
Remember, she herself explains the cause of her
alarm  by her exclamation —" Why hast thou deceived me, for thou art Saul?"
Her alarm, then, was not on account of the figure
of Samuel she saw in Saul's mind, for such views
her profession made her familiar with: but it was
because her life was in jeopardy, inasmuch as she
had been detected by the king himself. And mark
further, that as soon as Saul again assures her of
safety, you hear of no more alarm, but without comprehending the natural agencies at work, she resumes her psychological connection.  Saul tremblingly asks, "'What sawest thou?"  For, recol



THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST,        177
lect, that during the whole scene, it is not said that
he saw anything. The proof of this is found in the
fact that he asks her, " What sawest thou-?" She
did all the seeing, and told him that she saw " gods
ascending out of the earth."  Now,'this was either
a conscious lie, for there were no gods in the earth
to come up, or the visionary effect of her own excited
imagination. Then in reply to a question of Saul,
in whose excited mind Samuel was as he last saw
him, an old man with a mantle on; ignorant of this
purely natural yet strange power, whereby his mind
was all open to that of the witch, just like many
now-a-days, he was satisfied that it was a supernatural power, and so astonished was he that he fell
down in alarm.  Then commenced the conversation
between Saul and the imaginary Samuel through
this medium.
An apparent dffictulty here presents itself, but it
is only an apparent one. The record says, "c Samuel
spake to Saul." This mode of expression is common. It is said that " Solomon built the temple,"
whereas he did not-touch a stone personally. It is
said that " Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John," whereas he baptized none himself;
he did so by the agency of others.  You say, " I
built yonder house;" you mean you employed others
to build it for you.  Go to a modern spiritual circle, and receive what purports to be communications from your mother, and they will come through




78         REPRESENTA rIVE WOMEN.
the medium; and still spiritualists will say, "your
mother says so-and-so."  Then we have no: difficulty in understanding, that what purported to come
from  Samuel, came through the witch medium,
who, by the power of ventriloquism, easily caused
Saul to believe that the voice was supernatural.
In further proof of the correctness of this interpretation, I ask your attention to a fact, which to
my own mind is perfectly conclusive.  It is.-thisevery item of information _purporting to come from
Samuel, already existed in the knowledge and excited fears of Saul.  Bear in mind the circumstances.   Saul, nervous and  deluded, believed
Samuel was personally there, simply because the
witch said she saw hlim.  How she saw him I have
explained.  It was natural that Saul should conceive of Samuel, demanding why he had been called;
hence the question-" Why hast thou disquieted
me, to bring me up?" That the holy prophet would
have used such language —so heathenish in its
wording and purport, if he really had been there, is
simply preposterous.  But that the psychological
impressions would anticipate such a rebuke from
Samuel, is perfectly natural. And anticipating it,
he utters his ready justification, which, I beg you
to remember.  Having'perceived," i. e. become
satisfied, fromn the account of what the witch had
said she saw, viz: "an old man covered with a mantle," or linen ephod, such as the prophets wore, that




THE FEMALE SPItlTUALIST.       179
he was in communication with Samuel; and having
anticipated the rebuke — this is his doleful answer —"I am  sore distressed, for the Philistines
make war against me, and God is departed from
me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets
nor by dreams; therefore I have called thee, that
thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do."
Then commenced the communications.  The
first was-that the " Lord had departed from Saul,
and that therefore he ought not to ask aid of him."
Did not Saul know that? Why, he had just told
the imaginary Samuel that God had abandoned
him: that attempts to obtain knowledge from departed spirits had been expressly forbidden, he had
known from his boyhood: and of his final rejection
by Jehovah, Samuel distinctly announced to him
before his death. See Ist Sam. xv: 23.
The second —stated that " the Lord had taken
the kingdom from him and given it to David. Was
that news? Assuredly not, for Samuel had anointed
David king: the people's hearts had all gathered
around him: Jonathan knew this fact, for he said to
David, "' I know that the Lord hath given thee the
kingdom;" and because Saul was well aware of this
truth, he had sought assiduously to slay the Lord's
anointed.
The third-stated that the reason God had done
this was because of Saul's conduct in relation to
Amalek. It will astonish any one who has not criti



180        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
cally examined this subject, that the words of this
communnication are almost precisely those addressed
to Saul, in awful tones of retributive warning by
Samuel, at their last interview before his deathwords which had impressed themselves indelibly
upon the guilty conscience of the treacherous
monarch.
The fourth and last —stated that in the morrow s
battle, the Philistines would be victorious and himself and sons:be slain. Mark the language here employed -"to-morrow thou and thy sons shall be
with me." Would Samuel have employed such
language if he had been there?  Why, for months
before his death he would not allow Saul to approach him, and would he have so overlooked all
moral distinctions as to promise him a place in heaven
by his side? Would he not have urged immediate
repentance upon the guilty king, and preparation for
the speedy entrance into eternity, which was before
him?  Now I admit that this was not in his mind
in the form:of positive knowledge, as Ihave demonstrated that the facts of the other communications
were; from the nature of the case, it could not be.
But was it not there in anotherform? Is not this
the very thing he dreaded, and to avoid which he
sought aid? Was not this a result foreseeable to
the most ordinary intelligence, under the circum.
stances-his own arm being unnerved —his courage
gone-his army dispirited-his people disaffected,




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.       181
and God his enemy?  I affirm, therefore, with confidence, that this last communication was simply
the terrific embodiment of his otnz awful apprehensions and torturing fear.  Sir Walter Scott, in his
learned work on " Demonology and Witchcraft,"
although holding a different theory of this matter
from the one I am presenting, still admits the truth
of my last statement, in the following language:
"The defeat and death of the broken-spirited
king was an event, which the circumstances in
which he was placed, rendered highly probable, since
he was surrounded by a superior army of the Philistines, and hischaracter, as a soldier; rendered it
likely that he would not survive a defeat, which
must involve the loss of his kingdom." And the
result throws light upon the state of his mind. You
remember that he was not slain by the enemy, he
committed suicide, an act which he doubtless premeditated, for no one who understands his character,
can, for a moment, believe that he would allow himself to be taken captive, the inevitable consequence
of a defeat which should leave him unslain. And
these are all the communications made to himn by
this wretched medium, who pretended to call up
spirits from the "vasty deep."  But no honest,
sincere consulter of professed spirits now-a-days,
could be more sure that he has received communications direct from the spirit land, than Saul was.
tHe was convinced, overwhelmed, sore afraid, and




182           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
fell full length  upon the earth.   The witch got
ready a meal, of which they all partook, and then
the wretched king returned to his royal tent at
Gilboa.
At last morning's light falls upon the Hebrew
mountains, and chases away the shadows of that dismal night. The armies meet in deadly combat.
Victory soon perches upon-the banners of Philistia.
Gilboa is covered with the gory bodies of the slain.
The mountain breeze is laden with the wails of the
dying, and the air is rent by the victor shouts of
the proud foe.  A  poet hath conceived of Saul at
this terrible juncture, stretching his tall form to its
utmost height, as he beholds his surviving soldiers,
and exclaiming"Away, away, degenerate Hebrews, fly,
From Saul, nor see your Monarch die.
The hateful phantom vainly now implored,
lUnarmed my spirit, and unedged my sword.
Else, fled not Saul before the haughty foe,
Nor on his back received the Gentile blow,
Haste, slave, strike, strike! the victor shall not say
The chief of Israel was a living prey.
Strike the sharp weapon through my mangled breast,
One deep wound more be added to the rest.
Coward! this is the day, this is the hour,
Saul not outlives his glory and his power."
Drawing his own sword, he falls upon it; and as
his life-blood gurgles away, and through the gathering gloom the ocean fullness of eternity heaves in
view, his soul's emotions are thus interpreted



THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.                183
"Eternity! how dark the waves that roll,
In booming discord, on my frighted soul.
Eternity! how filled with wrath and gloom;
Creation's vast, yet never closing tomb.
Billows that flow in awful shade and fireBlack, lowering horrors fierce, and flashing ire.
Mystic and tedious, yet unshunned by me,
Thy dismal terrors, 0 Eternity!"
Then all was still. Encased in royal armor that
magnificent form laid lifeless on the ground, en.
shrouded, like that of many other spirit consulters,
in the blackness of a suicide's death.  Over his sad
fate the magnanimous David thus lamented, " How
are the mighty fallen!  Ye niountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon
you, nor field-offerings: for there the shield of the
mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as
though he had not been anointed with oil. Tell it
not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the
daughters of the uncircumcised triumph."*:1
The second object of this lecture is accomplished.
You have before you the witch  scene, and my interpretation  thereof.   I pass to  my last object:
* In the first chapter of 2 Samuel, where this lament is recorded, our translators have strangely misapprehended the eighteenth
verse, which they renderb-" Also he bade them teach the children
the use of the bow."  They ihave supplied the words the use of, which
entirely misleads the mind, for " The bow" was the name of the elegy
he composed over the sadfate of Saul and Jonathan, which " he bade
them teach their children."




184        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
which is to present some piractical remarks deduced
from both of theforner.
First-This subject throws light upon what are
called spiritual manifestations of the present day.
Indeed, the case of the Witch of Endor and Saul
is claimed to be one of the clear proofs that a human
being can call back the spirits of the dead. Is it
not evident that this case, at least, fails to support
that theory?  Now in addition to the arguments
already presented, bear in mind that law of interpretation which requires that where any passage
can befairly explained on natural principles, we
must not resort to a miracle for its elucidation; and
consider, the strength of the probability that I am
correct, in the  iew of this passage I have given
you. The soul of Samuel, while in his body and
out of it, was obedient to the will of Jehovah;
while in its body, God was the subject of its love
and obedience. Therefore, if it had come back from
the high ministries of heaven, it would only have
been in obedience to the will of God. Now look at
the character of Saul. He has rejected God, and
God has rejected him. He will not answer him " by
Urim, by prophets, or by dreams."  He is black
with the clotted gore of nearly an hundred murders.  Thqnk of that witch —an idolator-an outcast-an outlaw; and tell me, is there the least
probability that, to gratify Saul, his enemy, God
would send his servant Samuel from heaven into - a




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.       185
witch's den, in response to incantations, on account
of which He had commanded that witches should
be put to death? and send him, too, on the useless
errand of communicating to him facts Saul already
knew?  Verily not! If one doubt remains hear
this passage, found in 1 Chron. 10: 13:' So Saul
died for his transgression which he committed against
the Lord: even against the word of the Lord, which
he kept not; and alsofor asking counsel of one that
had a familiar spirit-to inquire of it."  Again I
ask, can you believe that the spirit of Samuel would
have appeared at the bidding of a vile witch, and
the request of an apostate prince?  Did God refuse
Saul the response of His prophets? and did a- witch
compel the appearance of Samuel, ~me chief of the
prophets, notwithstanding? No, no!
The only shadow of a reason for this prevalent
opinion is based upon the alarm the witch herself
expressed, when she said she saw the old man with
a mantle. Surely, you will never fall in that error
again, while you remember:
First-That Samuel was thus in Saul's mind.
Second-That she merely saw what any clairvoyant could have seen, had he been in magnetic connection with Saul.
Third-That her own language demonstrates the
cause of her alarm. She said, " Thou art Saul-:
why hast thou deceived me?"  She was alarmed
because she thought she was detected in her unlaw



186         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
ful business, by the very king who had ordered such
to be put to death.  But while to our minds, illuminated by the light of the nineteenth century,
there is not even a probability that in this case the
spirit of the departed returned to earth, and made
communications, still as I have before hinted, Saul,
the majestic king, was satisfied, convinced, that such
was the case; that he had really received a communication from a departed spirit; and it is possible
that the woman herself really thought so too. For
history plainly shows, that that strange yet purely
natural agent, which we call electricity, galvanism,
mesmeric influence, the nervous principle, was known
to the ancients and employed by them; and by many
was regarded as supernatural, and therefore they
supposed, that when by the excitement of their own
nervous organizations, they induced a corresponding
state of nervous sensibility, that it was caused by the
spirits of the dead, or other supernatural powers.
Hence both parties were often honestly and sincerely
deceived. Does not this case then, throw light upon
at least a large portion of what are called, spiritual
manifestations now-a-days —that portion at least,
where the medium merely communicates to the consulter, with whom she is in connection, facts of which
she herself is ignorant, but which are all in his mind,
though neither written nor spoken by him?  And
yet how many honest, sincere people there are, who
go to a medium, and ask questions, either mentally




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.       187
or orally, in regard to matters known only to themselves, and because the things are either rapped out,
written or spoken by the medium, feel just as Saul
did, astonished, satisfied, convinced that they have
had communications from the dead.
And in regard to the remaining class of these
phenomena, such as table moving, producing sounds
and communicating matter, which is not in the mind
of the consulter-what is the rational and philosophical probability in regard to them?
Just this.  Inasmuch as a thousand things now
known to be the result of natural influences, in past
days have been believed to be the products of supernatural power: and especially inasmuch as mesmeric trances, clairvoyant developments, and psychological influences have been regarded in past days,
as mysterious and inexplicable as these phenomena
now are, and as, by the light. of advancing science,
they are now believed by every body to be merely
the operations of hitherto unknown mental and physical laws, so I affirm that the reasonable, philosophical probability in regard to them is —that they
are one of two things:
They are either higher developments of now known
physical and mental laws —or of others purely natural, yet to be discovered.
The monks of the dark ages accidentally found
themselves capable of exerting what we call mesmeric influence. They did not knowv what it was,




188         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
or how they produced it, any more than honest modern mediums know how their raps are produced: but
like them they ascribed it to supernatural power, and
thousands of their adherents, just like the adherents
of mediums now, religiously believed that it was the
product of supernatural agency, which advancing
science has demonstrated to be purely natural.
To this view I have heard but one prominent objection, namely, that mediums whose moral character is above reproach, unitedly assert that they do
have intercourse with the departed-that they are
perceptibly conscious of seeing, hearing, and receiving messages from them, and that as consciousness
is the highest possible kind of testimony, they ought
to be believed. To this I reply that, the validity
of proof derived from' consciousness, can only be predicated upon the consciousness of the mind in its
nzormal or natural state. For, in many abnormal
or unnatural mental states, consciousness is no evidence at all.  The man who has the delirium tremens is perfectly conscious that he sees snakes and
devils, but is his consciousness any evidence of their
presence?  When under psychological influence,
persons see men with noses four feet long, and women with a dozen mouths; is that consciousness
any evidence of the existence of such monstrosities?
History will aid us on this point. During the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, what
was then called necromancy, witchcraft, prevailed




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.        189
far more extensively over Europe than what is called spiritualism yet prevails over America: for it
was the general, popular belief.
During a long period, all the mediums in extensive territories affirmed, that they regularly attended what was called the Witches' Sabbath, and met
many there whom they knew. And so sure were
they of it, that when afterwards persons were placed
upon their trial for witchcraft, they testified upon
oath, that the accused had been. present and participated in the exercises of the Witches' Sabbath.
They testified, that at those times they had seen
the devil in person baptize novitiates, administer
the sacrament to them; that they then all feasted,
danced, and drank until cock-crowing, and then all
returned home on the backs of demons, or astride
broomsticks. Now these thousands of persons were
honest in their belief: to them it was a matter of
consciousness-to us a certain delusion. But how
do I account for it, on the view presented in this
lecture?  Thus: every body believed in witchcraft.  Witches were in every body's mind. Persons no sooner passed out of the normal into the
abnormal or psychological condition, than the universal belief in these spirits impressed itself upon
them, and by the mental law to which I have referred, these impressions became embodied as visible
realities, and they sincerely believed they were in
communication with them.




190         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
So I explain the phenomena of modern spiritual
intercourse.  The medium now sits down in a circle, prepossessed with the idea of communicating
with spirits. He passes into the abnormal or clairvoyant state with this impression on his mind. The
persons who compose the circle are similarly impressed, for they came there to obtain spiritual manifestations. Each one thinks of the spirit of some departed friend: and all these thoughts, by a strange
but natural law,-become impressed on the mind of
the medium. And then he is able accurately to
describe the departed, imitate their actions, tell
when and how they died, &c., in exact accordance
with the knowledge, latent in the minds of those
interested: so that the communications are merely
the responsive echoing of their own mental mechanismn-the telegraphic rapping out of their own
electric-borne thought."  Now you observe that I
do not accuse mediums of trickery or deceit. I apply
to them  or their adherents no scurrilous epithets.
I admit the facts they claim. I simply deny their
inference. They infer as Saul did, that they are
the products of departed spirits. I affirm that they
are but the workings, as in the case before us, of
mysterious, yet purely natural, physical and mental
laws.
But it is said that great men, such as Judge Edmonds and Governor Talmadge, believe in the spirit
theory.




THE FEMA LE SPIRITUALIST.        191
I reply that history has a parallel for this. What
two. names stand higher than those of Sir Edward
Coke and Sir Matthew Hale?  Yet both believed
in the reality of witchcraft, and the latter presided
in 1650 at trials, where persons were convicted of it,
and he condemned them to death.
Again it is said-" see how fast it makes converts;
it multiplies them by the thousands." To this I
reply-that circumstances favor its progress. No
other " ism" is now in the field.  Millerism swept
over the land like a tornado, and then died out.Perfectionism made quite a breeze, and then blew
out. Mesmerism agitated the land, but now is little
heard of. Is not this a significant fact?  Spiritualism  has absorbed mesmerism.  And the public
mind must have some excitement. It has been well
remarked that "-The philosophic Shakspeare pictures only the strongly excited as seeing and hearing ghosts; the nervous excitement gradually being aroused in mind after mind, until many see the
same." For proof, read Macbeth and Hamlet.Joan of Arc-born in the midst of war and political convulsions-possessing a high nervous organization, which was excited by the events transpiring
around her —believed that she saw celestial visions
and heard celestial voices.
Then there are masses of people who have no settled belief.  They have never examined the claims of
Christianity; they want some religious faith, and




192        REPRESENTATIVE WOlMEN.
this strikes them as most plausible.  But this excitement must make far greater progress before it
rivals its former developments in other lands.
I feel the force of an inquiry, which I doubt not,
has arisen in your mind. It is this.
If my view is correct, are these things to be deplored? Why do not all seek for knowledge through
their agency?  Why do so many of the best, most
stable portions of the community stand aloof, and
refuse to countenance what is in this age called Spiritualism; in other ages under other forms-necromancy, witchcraft?
Bear me witness, now, that'I do not apply the
opprobrious term, witch, to a modern medium. I do
no such thing.  Some of them are my personal
friends, whose characters I respect, whose friendship
I prize, and whose feelings I would not unnecessarily
injure; and I feel conscious that nearly eleven years
residence in this city has convinced them that I am
charitable in my feelings, and that I am kindly honorable to those who differ from. me in their views. I
beg you to observe that I do not say that modern
mediums, in their social or moral characters, are for
a moment to be classified with those wicked ones of
old. All I say is, that it is my own conviction that
one of the agencies employed by the woman of Endor
and others of her class, was the same mesmeric or
nervous principle, inhering as a natural element in
certain conditions of the body and mind; an element




THE'EMALE SPIRITUALIST.        193
which, traceable through all history in varied developments, call it spiritual influence if you will, for it
certainly is intermediate between ordinary mind and
matter, is the cause of those manifestations which
they honestly think are caused by departed spirits.
But then the question returns-" Why are they to
be deplored?" I answer you honestly and candidly.
Because the spiritualists are mistaken in supposing
that the phenomena they witness are new, whereas
our own country has been the scene of far stranger
events.  Consult 3Mather's Magnalia, Book 6, pp.
69-70, and you will find, that in the days of NewEngland witchcraft; mysterious rappings were heard
-scratchings on bedsteads —drumming on boardsvoices —a frying-pan rang so loud that it was heard
an hundred yards distant —sounds of steps, and
clattering of chairs were heard in empty roomsIgnorant men spake in various languages —one.little
girl argued concerning death with paraphrases on
the thirty-first Psalm which amazed the peoplethey spoke Hebrew and Greek —and the mediums
while thus doing closed their eyes-their frames
were s tif —one person'was said to have been drawn
up by unseen power to the ceiling —violent convulsions —twitching of the muscles —oscillation of tho
body were the accompaniments.
And what is remarkable in the analogy, Bancroft
quotes from the diary of Mather this entry made
after the witchcraft excitement, by which he was
9




194          EPRESENTATIVE'WOMENO
carried away, had died out: "I had temptations to
Atheism, and to the abandonment of all religion as
a delusion."  Who can wonder at this?  Similar
results from yielding to such excitements strew the
world's history.  Such " wax worse and Nworse, deceiving and being deceived,"
They are mistaken, as Saul was, and the world
has always been, in ascribing whatever was strange
and to them  inexplicable, to supernatural powers;
whereas, advancing science has demonstrated that
there are mysterious laws in our complex nature
not yet fully understood, but which are amply adequate to account for all that has been seen or heard.
Moreover, they make a sad mistake in arguing that
because the Bible records instances of spiritual
communications to men, that in this they find a
probability in favor of their theory. But what communications are thus recorded? Those of angels sent
by God on important errands, not the spirits of the
departed.  But since Christ came, and gave the
world a perfect revelation, even angels have not been
thus employed.  "God manifest in the flesh" superseded the necessity.
Oh, I have one dear boy whose body now reposes
in the grave, and whose darling soul is in heaven,
and from the depths of a stricken heart I say, let
no one attempt to call him from the bosom of Jesus;
nay, I say of him as David said of his boy, "C I shall
go to him, he shall not return to me,"




THE FEMIALE SPIRITUALIST.       195
We oppose them, because, believing as we do
from history and from science, that what is seen and
heard is the result of- a high state of nervous and
magnetic excitement, it is highly injurious to the
physical constitution.  Remember, your mediums
are generally young girls, or highly excitable women,
or, what is more pitiable, nervous men. Remember, that the more they attend circles where, in silence, this nervous magnetic principle is excited,
the more deranged their nervous organizations become; until, not unfrequently, wildness and even
insanity is the result. It is dangerous to experiment with our nervous energy. We oppose them
because we are forbidden to seek knowledge " from
such sounrces"-Isaiah 8: 19; Deut. 18: 10, 11, 12.
Why?
It is not thus to be obtained. It is a significant
fact that all the literature of spiritualism has not
added one new thought to the world of mind. It
cultivates an idle curiosity. \We oppose them b)ecause of the uses to which it is put. And what are
they?
To mnake money.  Think of a sign in Broadway,
New York, where a woman professes to call up the
spirit of your good old mother for twenty-five cents!
It is employed to promulgate dangerous errors
and destroy confidence in the holy Bible. I am aware
there are a great many good people, Christian people, who honestly have been deceived, and who do




196         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
not wish to promote infidelity; but the truth is,
that the leaders of the enterprise, many of them,
were once professors of religion, but for years have
secretly been sceptics. And it is painfully amusing
to observe that every argument that spiritualists
have used against Christianity, Christian churches,
and Christian ministers, can be found stereotyped
in the books of old infidels: so that the truth is,
that infidelity, vanquished on the battle-fields of
history, science, and literature, in former days, in
these last times has come up under a new garb,
with a new voice, a new form, new name, but with
its old heart filled with enmity to the God-honoring,
sin-condemning, pride-killing, but soul-saving, religion of Jesus.
Moreover, spiritualism takes off attention from the
great practical duties of life. Just think of it --
What has spiritualism done?  What is it doing?
What charitable institution has it founded?  What
poor has it clothed?  What hungry has it fed?
~What household has it made happier!  Alas! into
how many it has carried disorder,jealousy, and death!
More than this: it leads to a neglect of the word
of God!  It leads to a practical forgetfulness of
God himself, by filling up the mind with thoughts
of bodiless spirits. It annihilates prayer to the omnipotent God, and substitutes the uncertain cormmunications of imaginary beings. It dishonors Christ,
as the Saviour, by his atoning merit and efficacious




THE FEMALE' SPIRITUALIST         197
grace, of human souls-by making each his own Saviour, or saved by other spirits than Christ's.  Tell
me honestly whether true science, developing the
deep principles of nature, which is God's elder scripture, does not supply all our material wants? Tell
me honestly and truly, ye who know what there is
-for many there are who do not-in spiritual Christianity, genuine Bible religion, God's later scripture,
what hope, what fear, what desire, what want, what
yearning of our soul it does not supply, in its sublime revealments of God, of man, of law, of gospel,
of time, of eternity?
O Bible Christianity! sure word of prophecylamp of our feet —guide of our way-illuminator of
our reason and of the great mysteries of providence
and eternity: blessed Christianity! sealed by the
blood of the Son of God, attested by genuine miracles, signets of the Almighty-confirmed by the testimony of millions of bleeding martyrs and the history of eighteen centuries: precious Christianity!
thou soother of human sorrows; thou support when
all else fails; guide of wayward youth; staff of tottering age; victor over death; opener of heaven,
with the pious of earth and the ransomed of glory,
I bow my soul before thee in humility, in awe, in
thanksgiving; for thou art the hope of humanity,
the originator of all noble reforms and generous
charities.  Thou art our sun, and all other lights' Lead but to bewilder, and dazzle to blind."




198         REIPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Thou art our rock, and all is sea beside.  It is the
boast of spiritualism that the numbers of professors
of religion are decreasing; that in a few years the
Bible will be merely an antiquated relic of the past;
that Christian churches will be broken up, Christian
sanctuaries converted into halls for exhibitions. Its
leaders at least are resolved that if these results are
not reached, it shall not be their fault. What awaits
us in this regard in the future I know not. That
Christianity is to be attacked more fiercely than ever
before, that there will be a great falling off of
nominal professors, that the Christian church will
be sifted, the prophecies of my Bible assure me.
For aught I know, Christianity may again, as in the
past, suffer a temporary defeat, its true followers
suffer bitter persecutions, and error seem to have
the ascendancy. But I do know that
"Truth, crushed to earth shall rise again,
The eternal years of God are hers."
I do know that the once crucified but now glorifled Jesus, the friend of the poor, the needy, the oppressed of all mankind, on whose immaculate brow,
triumphant error once wreathed the crown of thorns,
shall yet wear the resplendent crown of all the
earth —shall see of the travail of his soul in a regenerated humanity, a redeemed world, and be satisfied.  I do know, that though I myself may apostatize, thoughl all professors may turn their backs on




THE FEMALE SPIRITUALIST.            199
true religion, and wander after every " ism" that
may start up and draw its thousands after it, that
still "[ He shall have a seed to serve him:' that still
in this very world in whose soil his gory cross was
planted, whose air was vocal with his death groans!
yea, this earth, the scene of his ignominy, shall yet
be the theatre of the glory of his conquering grace,
and as it revolves in its orbit shall send up to the
throne of the God of the Bible, anthems of praise
loud as seven thunders and melodious as the choruses of eternity-trained angels.
One thing is certain, as Milton has beautifully
said in his Christmas Hymn"The oracles are dumb;
No voice or hideous hum
Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving
Apollo from his shrine,
Can no more divine
-With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving,
No nightly trance or breathed spell
Inspires the pale-eyed priests from the prophetic cell."9
The heathen oracle is no more, the witchcraft of
past days is no more-in that form; delusions which
have beclouded the minds of men are fast disappearing before true science and true religion, but
"1 Beware-lest any man spoil you, through philosophy
and vain deceit, after the traditions of men and the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."




AB IGAIL
OF AN INFERIOR HUSBAND.
1 Sam. 25: 3. " Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the
namve af hLis wife was Abigail; she was a wonzacn of beautiful countenance and of good ennderstanding; but the man was churlish and
evil in his doings."
IT will take but a few moments to give an out-.
line of the recorded incidents in the life of the subject of this lecture.   Before doing this, however,
we must glance at the leading events of Jewish history during the period in which she lived, and the
reign of David. You will recollect that the last
lecture brought down the record to the reign of
Saul, which we grouped around dismal Endor and
the gory battle-field of Gilboah, where Israel was
vanquished, the guilty and superstitious monarchwhose life-morning had opened with such unclouded
glory, closed his life-day in the gloom of a suicide's
death; where his noble sons met a premature end,
over whom  David uttered  the mournfully grand




THE SUPERIOR' WIFE.           201
lamentations we then quoted. Gladly we now hasten
from those dark and dewless hills, to trace a few of
the events and characteristics of the reign of David,
whom, you will recollect, Samuel had anointed as
the chosen of the Lord to be the king of Israel,
while but a boy he tended his father's flocks on the
green hills that girt his native home.  Remember,
he was the great-grandson of Ruth, and a regal
progenitor of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Called to
the throne in perilous times, he reigned forty years,
and during his administration the territory of Israel
was greatly enlarged; its resources vastly increased,
and all the elements of its prosperity astonishingly
multiplied.  Very different are the views which
have been taken of his character.
There is a tendency in us all either to overrate or
to underrate others, and especially historic personages. We either make them angels or devils. In
the one case we do them  more, in the other, less
than justice. This is seen in regard to N apolean
Bonaparte.  While English historians have attempted to make him, in his moral features, less
than a man, an American author has endeavored to
make him more than human.  William Hazlitt has
disgraced himself in a scurrilous paper published in
the "Round Table," where he describes David as
a " crowned, spiritual hypocrite, with no redeeming
feature."  Infidelity in its lowest putridity, never
uttered a baser calumny. The truth is, that David's




202       REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
was a mixed character, just as is that of every
human being. In the fullness of his power and the
wealth of his mature luxury, he committed great
sins; as in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah. But
tell me, was not his remorse and repentance equally
great? Read the immortal record of his self-loathing, of his honest, whole-soulecl confessions to God
and to man, his midnight flowing tears that wet his
royal pillow, his earnest endeavors to make what
reparation he could for wrongs committed; and then
tell me, whether these are the exercises of a wicked
man, in whom wickedness predominates; or of a
good man, temporarily led into sin by the power of
strong passion and baneful circumstances?  Tell
me, candidly, whether such are the exercises of a
bad man, in whose life a few good deeds form only
exceptions to general wickedness; or of a good but
imperfect man, in whose life goodness is the general
rule, and wickedness but the exception?
Whenever you hereafter hear David's sins either
sneered at or dwelt upon as extraordinary, please
remember the age in which he lived, and then take
your Bible and read aloud these words, in the 51st
Psalm: "Have mercy on me, oh God! According
to thy loving kindness, -blot out my transgressions,
wash me thoroughly, and cleanse me from my sins;
for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sins
are ever before me. Create in me a new heart."
Think of David as a friend-the pure Jonathan




'THE SUPERIOR WI E..        203
loved him, with " a love passing that of worsen."Think of him as a warrior, and what general of ancient or modern times was his superior in courage
or magnanimity?  Think of him as a king, and
what monarch's government was ever more just or
prosperous? Think of him as a father, and remember two scenes: first, that which occurred when
they brought fromr the forest-bough the dead body
of the wicked and ungrateful son; and the agonized
father, forgetting his own bitter wrongs, cried out,
"0  my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!Would God I had died for thee, 0 Absalom, my
son, my son!" Second, that which occurred, when
about to die, he called to him young Solomon, and
with accents tremulous with age and love, gave him
thus his farewell blessing: " Solomon, my son, know
thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a
pure heart and a willing mind."  Look at these
scenes, and tell me where, in the records of paternal
love, grief, and counsel, you can find a nobler character. Think of him as a poet, and read the Psalms,
most of which are his composition, and you will find
all the high elements of the loftiest, grandest and
sweetest poetry. Sometimes the harp of the minstrel king rises into a grandeur, in which its strings
seem to shiver, "as if a storm were the harper;"
then it sinks into a solitary plaint, like the cry "of
the bittern by a lonely pool," or the low wail of a
heart ready to burst; and anon, it gushes forth like




204         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
the chorus of rejoicing spirits. Lastly, consider him
as a religious man, and while you observe defects,
and occasional sins, I beg you to peruse carefully
the 22d chapter of the 2d book of Samuel, and his
psalms of adoration, penitence, thanksgiving, and
praise; and I am  sure that you will feel that he
was an earnest, devout, and acceptable worshipper
of the true God. He was about twenty years of age
when he was anointed by Samuel, and about thirty
when he ascended the throne. It was between these
periods that he was persecuted by Saul, and compelled to fly to the wilderness, where he was joined
by numerous adherents; of whom it is said, indicative of their bravery, that " their faces were like
the faces of lions, and they were swift as the roes
upon the mountains."
It was during this part of his history that the incidents in the life of the subject of this lecture transpired. A family scene first claims our attention;
and you will find it different in some respects from
any we have yet beheld. It is in Maon-a city located in the south part of Judea, wh7ere we are introduced to a husband and wife.  The name of the
wife is Abigail; that of her husband, Nabal.  His
name is enough to make us suspicious of him, for it
signifies, c'foolish, base, villainous." That of his
wife is adapted to make us think favorably of her,
for it means "joy, exultation of a father."  It was
doubtless given to her, because of this significance,




THE SUPERIOR WIFE.           205
by a joyous parent of whom she was the pride and
the glory. In her young womanhood she became
the wife of Nabal, who " was very rich, and had
large possessions in Carmel."  But with all his
wealth, he was a churl; that is, " a brutal, ill-humored, covetous, narrow-minded man," as to his
character; and "evil in his doings."  His wife
was not only a beautiful woman, but possessed " a
good understanding," which scripture phrase is very
comprehensive, including all the elements of strength,
cultivation, taste, conscience, and perception, which
go to make up the noble-minded woman, and fit
her to be the companion and friend of a cultivated,
pure-minded man.  We are introduced to this
couple, with these characteristics, living in luxury
at their residence in MIaon.
The scene now changes. The wilderness of Paran,
with its dreary wastes, verdureless hills and naked
crags, rises before us. In a lonely mountain is a
rock-ribbed cave; amid whose dark recesses the
persecuted David and his noble band have found
shelter and safety. But their provisions are exhausted. Hunger begins to gnaw at their vitals.Nabal's flocks are feeding in the dim  distance.
Easily they can seize them and supply their wants;
but the noble David, though injured, banished, and
hunted like a partridge on the mountains, scorns to
turn robber and thief; and at the time of sheepshearing sends a deputation to Nabal, with this




206        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
polite and noble message: " Peace be to thee, and
peace be to thine house, and peace be to all that
thou hast. And now I have heard that thou hast
shearers; now thy shepherds which were with us,
we hurt them not; neither was there aught missing
unto them all the time they were in Carmel. Ask
thy young men, and they will show thee. Wherefore let the young men find favor in thine eyes, for
we come in a good day; give, I pray thee, whatsoever cometh to thy hand, unto thy servants and to
thy son David."
This message, worthy of the anointed of God, it
would seem could not have failed to have touched
the heart of any ordinary man. But mark the response of this rich churl; while the deep lines of
supreme selfishness deepen on his hard face, and
with a voice cold as the crack of an iceberg, he responds, "Who is David?  And who is the son of
Jesse? There be many servants now-a-days that
break away from their masters. Shall I then take
my bread, and my water, and my flesh, that I have
killed for my shearers, and give it to men whom. I
know not?" I very much suspect that this mean,
rich man lied, in order to make an excuse for his
stinginess; as many a man has done since his day.
Is it probable that he did not know David? and if
he did not, he had only to ask his own servants, and
they would have told him, that David had not only
kept his needy followers from injuring them and




THE SUPERIOR WIFE.'207
their master's property, but had actually protected
them from the -bands of marauders which infested
the wilderness.
The messengers return to the mountain cave.Now David is a man of hot blood: he becomes indignant at the insulting answer of the rich churl:
his men are wasting for want of food: his eagle eye
is flashing fire: he is angry, and grasping his own
sword, commands four hundred of his followers to
gird theirs, and follow him to Nabal's dwelling and
extirpate all that he has.
Hasten we thither before him, and observe a scene
transpiring there. One of Nabal's young men has
gone to his mistress, and told her all that has occurred. His excuse for coming to her is —" That his
master is such a man of Belial that he dare not
speak to him."  She feels grieved at the contemptible conduct of her husband, and becomes conscious
of the impending danger. Her decision is formed.
She confers not with Nabal, for that were useless.
But her household is at stake, and she is alone equal
to the emergency.  Taking with her "c two hundred
loaves, two bottles of wine, five dressed sheep, five
measures of parched corn, one hundred clusters of
raisins, two hundred cakes of figs," and having commanded her servants to go before, she followed in
the direction of the wilderness.  Descending an
elevation of Carmel, she met the approaching armed
host, coming down from Paran, and bowing herself




208        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
before David, uttered impromptu, one of the finest
addresses to be found in the literature of any age.
", Upon me," she said, " upon me, my lord, let this
iniquity be; yet, let thine handmaiden, I pray thee,
speak in thine ears."  And she did speak, as none
but a high-minded, pious, magnanimous, shrewd
woman could speak. I have not time to quote all
she said here; but you must read it; and in all
that beautiful speech you will not find one word of
fulsome adulation: you will not find her for one
moment forgetting her own dignity; but you will
see developments of the loftiest piety, the most delicate purity, a grand breadth of thought, an elevation of language that marks a superior woman,
whose mental and moral beauty far surpassed the
magnificence of her physical loveliness.
The young warrior is disarmed. His sword falls
into his scabbard. His better nature is called forth.
The religious element awakens in him, and clasping
his hands while he looks heavenward, exclaims,
" Blessed be the Lord thy God which sent thee to
me this day, and blessed be thou which hath kept
me this day from shedding blood."  Her mission
succeeds. Her gifts are accepted. Her husband's
life is saved.  His property secured, joyfully the
superior wife returns to her inferior husband, and
alas, she finds him as she has often found him before-drunk.  The next morning, when the influence of his low, drunken revelry had been slept off,




THE SUPERIOR WIFE.            209
Abigail told him the fearful tale of the danger that
had threatened him, and how she had averted it.
And just as any other low, mean, churlish man
would have acted in similar circumstances, Nabal's
cowardly heart petrified with fear; and selfishly
forgetful of the gratitude he owed the angel of a wife,
whom he never had either capacity or disposition to
appreciate, he uttered no word of thankfulness to
her, but sat wrapped up in stupified selfishness, cold
and heartless as a stone.
T:-e':: short days afterwards, by a stroke of
Providence, Nabal died, and his pallid corpse lay
stiff in death in the midst of all his wealth, unlamented by a single neighbor or relative. For though
the noble Abigail, whose married life had been one
continued scene of unhappiness, could but shed tears
over the untimely fate of her brutal, drunken husband, who was so poorly prepared for the fearful
realities of the eternal world, how could she sincerely lament the stroke that separated her from an
inferior, churlish man, whom she did endure, but
could not love? As well might the prisoner lament the decree that opens his prison doors, or the
oppressed lament the blow that breaks the tyrant's
sway, or the crushed slave lament the stroke that
shivers his fetters and lets him go forth to breathe
the air of freedom.  Subsequently brighter days
dawned upon her, but the theme of this lecture
does not require us to trace her history further.




210         REPRESENTATIVE WOMENo
With these facts before us I remarkI.-I have succeeded in accomplishing one object.
I have introduced to you a personage of whom many
knew little or nothing before; and even those who
knew that there was in the Bible the record of such
a woman, have hitherto failed to appreciate the
transcendant beauty of her person and character.
And if you feel obliged to any one who introduces
you to a person worthy of your acquaintance, especially when it is a lady, I flatter myself that you
will not regret having given me a hearing to-day.
Indeed I am  astonished that the Christian world
has so sadly failed to appreciate Abigail.  The
names of other prominent females are as familiar as
household words; that of Abigail is rarely heard.'Whereas she is inferior to none of them, and superior to most of them in all the grand elements of
magnificent womanhood. Of what female have these
two leading elements of womanly glory, a " beautiful
countenance" and a " good understanding,"' been so
distinctly predicated?  What other woman do we
read of, who, placed in circumstances equally trying, and deporting herself with such pure dignity,
came forth out of the fiery ordeal so unscathed as
she?  I am further astonished, that artists have so
much neglected Abigail. They have given us pictures
of Sarah at her tent door; of Hagar in the wilderness; of Rebecca at the well; of Miriam at the Red
Sea; of Jeptha's daughter meeting her father; of




THE SUPERIOR WIFEo            211
Bathsheba as first seen by David; of Ruth gleaning
in the fields of Bethlehem; of Esther approaching
the king, and others; but you seldom ever saw a
picture, painted or engraved, of the splendid Abigail.  Does her life not supply scenes worthy of a
master's pencil? I will invite your attention to two,
of which I will draw before your imagination wordpictures.  The one shall be-the wilderness scene.
Behold, a rocky defile of Carmel, down which four
hundred armed men are eagerly following their
leader. Their armor glitters in the sunshine. Their
countenances are those of soldiers bent on shedding
blood.  The servants with their laden beasts, and
Abigail gracefully grouped on the one side, form a
beautiful contrast by their peaceful habiliments and
alarmed looks, to the fierce attitudes of the warriors
on the other.  Then, see the extreme beauty of
Abigail, her pleading look and suppliant posture,
her modest dignity and tender earnestness, in
contrast with the manly form and superb face of
the youthful warrior —David, his expression varying from indignation to softened admiration, while
his hand relaxes its hold upon his sword, and his
heart melts before the irresistible earnestness of the
fair suppliant.  Surely that is a picture worthy the
pencil of a first-rate artist.
Or think of that scene that occurred the following
morning, when the heroic, unappreciated, superior
wife sought her miserably inferior husband, who, all




212        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
pale and trembling from his last night's drunken debauch, as she tells him how near exterminating destruction was upon him, and how her own unloved
hand had averted it, petrifies with cowardly horror.
On the one side, see that noble woman, now palefaced and solemn as eternity; on the other, that terrified churl, and tell me, would not that picture,
drawn by a master-hand, be worthy of a place in any
gallery of art?
II.-I do not doubt but that one question concerning Abigail, has arisen in every thoughtful, attentive mind. It is this-how did this glorious woman
ever become the wjfe of this churlish man?  Sure I
am, that it was not of her own choice. For she had
"C a good understanding," and that would have prevented her from making such a mistake. But the
question is answered, when we remember that in
those days marriage alliances were contracted by
parents for their daughters. And there were two
things in regard to Nabal, which commended him
to the parents of Abigail, and would have commended him to many parents now-a-days.
One was-he belonged to a distinguishedfamily;
indeed, the most distinguished in Israel. He was a
descendant of the noble Caleb, the coadjutor of
Joshua; to whom, on account of his faithfulness,
Joshua gave the whole district of Maon, to be his
and his descendants' forever. He was also a descendant of a Prince of Midian, Hohab, Moses' father



THE SUPERIOR WIFE.           213
in-law. This we learn from I Chronicles 2: 55Judges I: 14-Ex. 2: 14. Then, Nabal's escutcheon was illustrious, from the fact that he sprang
from Hamath, who was the father of Rechab, whose
son, Jonadab, commanded his son saying, c"Ye shall
drink no wine, ye nor your sons forever;" and of
whose descendants God said by Jeremiah, " Because
ye have obeyed the command of your father, therefore the son of Rechab shall not want a son to stand
before me forever."  These iRechabites were the
first teetotallers in the world; and their teetotalism
brought upon them  the benediction of Almighty
God. Nabal was a branch of this temperance family,
though he was intemperate himself. Alas, this is
not the only instance where temperance families
have drunken connections.
The other fact in regard to Nabal which commended him to Abigail's parents, as a suiter for the fair
hand of their daughter, was this —he had moneyhe was a rich mnan —he owned a large district of
country, To many parents, and many daughters,
there has always been an irresistible potentiality in
this qualification of a suitor. To their view money
covers up a multitude of sins. Its radiance makes
an ugly man handsome. Its precious weight easily
supplies a lack of the weight of character. Ah! it
hath tremendous power among men and women too.
I do not wonder that the quaint Thomas Hood thus
sang of it:          -




214          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
"Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Bright and yellow, hard and cold;
MIolten,  graven, hammered and rolled;
VHeavy to get, and light to hold.;
Hoarded, battered, bought and sold;
Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled;
Spurned by the young, but hugged by the old
To the very verge of the church-yard mould;
Price of many a crime untold,
Gold! Gold! Gold  Gold! "
This poetry reminds us of that famous expression
in Virgil's rEniad, "0  cursed desire of gold, what
dost thou not force mortal hearts to (lo!"  A fearful mistake do those parents make who early imbue
into the minds of their daughters an undue appreciation of wealth, which leads them to look with
contempt upon the young man, however pure, industrious or honorable he may be, against whom nothing
can be said, excepting-that he is poor.  Horrible
mistakes do those parents make, who, like Abigail,
barter away their daughters to suitors who have
nothing to commend them  but what Nabal had, a
distinguished ancestry and great wealth. What
avails it how high a man's family be if he be, low
himself? What avails it how distinguished soever
his ancestry may be for patriotism and virtue, if he
be distinguished for nothing but conceited churlishness and debasing vice? What avails it how much
wealth of money he may possess, if he be poor in
all those elements that make up a man?   Can
ancestry or wealth cover up mental'imbecility and




THE SUPERIOR WIFE.           215
moral baseness?   C(an these pay a pure woman
for the absence of -that generous love of a manly
heart, which alone can supply the deathless yearnings of her nature, smooth the roughest paths of
human life, wreath rainbows around its blackest
clouds, fling roses on its most desert wastes, dry up
sorrow's bitterest tears, sustain in hours of sickness
and languishing as with a giant's power; that immortal affection which malkes life's heaviest burdens
light, its longest journeys short, and finally smooths
her dying pillow, tenderly wipes the gathering deathdew from her pallid brow, and loads her departing
spirit with sweet benedictions?  Nay! nay! gold
cannot buy happiness, and parents who compel their
daughters to marry for money, or station, commit a
grievous sin against humanity and God. And the
woman who marries a churl for his wealth will find
that she has made a terrible bargain; that all the
glitterings of heartless grandeur are but the phos-phorescent gleamings of heart-wretchedness, that
her life will be one of gilded misery, and her old
age will be like a crag on the bleak side of a desert
mountain, where cold moonbeams sometimes glitter,
but no sunshine ever falls, no flowers bloom, no
birds sing, but wild storms howl and hoarse thunders roar; and through the sweeping storm shall be
heard the stern voice of the Great God, saying,
"Your riches are corrupted, your garments are
moth-eaten, your gold and silver are cankered, and




216         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
the rust of them shall be a witness against you and
eat your flesh as it were fire."
III.-In the conduct of Abigail, women in similar
circumstances may see their duty illustrated. And
are there not many such? Are there not many
high-minded, noble women tied up by irrevocable
vows to low, vicious men?  Yea, verily!
Manv there are, who, in all the freshness and purity of their blooming womanhood, have become allied to men in every way inferior to -them-mere
modern Nabals; inferior to them in mind and intelligence; and infinitely below them in virtue and
moral character. Many there are, who, when married, stood upon a moral equality, between whom in
after years the disparity has become heaven and
earth wide. Husbands there are, who, by indulging
their temper, have become changed from magnanimous kindness, to snarling, crabbed, peevish churlishness. Others there are, who, by their own lack
of industry and thrift, bring their families to want,
and then growl at their wives on account of household destitution. And others still there are, who
become addicted to the vice of intemperance, as
Nabal did, which deprives them of every attribute
of a noble manhood, and gradually transforms them
into loathsome human beasts.
Ah! a vision rises before me! I see a marriage
circle. Amid a crowd of joyous guests, before the
minister of God, stands a noble youth; the purity




THE SUPERIOR WIFE.            217
of fresh manhood is on hisbrow; blended intelligence and love beam from his eyes; health's roses
bloom on his cheek; strength and dignity radiate
from his manly form.  By him stands a bride:' the
orange blossom  is in her raven hair; her form is
arrayed in purest white; her radiant eyes are veiled
by downcast lashes; her fair cheek is pale as a lily;
while her young heart flutters like a bird of Paradise
in a golden cage. They join hand in hand, and a
solemn voice, in the name of God, pronounces them
husband and wife. I join the congratulations, and
say, " God bless you, noble pair; and may your future prove all that your rose-hued imaginations
paint it!"  That vision passeth; another cometh.
Years have rolled away.  Youth has matured
into middle age. In yon pale mother I recognize
the bride of former years.  She hath changed, but it
is merely from youthful to matronly womanhood.Her little ones are reposing in the soft slumbers of
childhood.  She is alone; but as the night advances
she listens eagerly for approaching footsteps.  As
she lifts her head, I see trouble in her eye and pallor on her cheek; and lo! a big tear courses its
pearly way down her face. She listens, she waits;
she waits, she listens.  At length she hears a
sound; dashing away the tear, she opens the door,
and a man staggers in.  Who is that drunken man?
Ah! she bursts into a flood of tears: it is her husband. Her worst fears are realized  the father of
10




215 W{ $    EtEPPRESENTATIVE WOME —E.
her children is becoming a drunkard! God pity thee,
poor wife, and God have mercy on thy sleeping babes.
That vision also passeth, and still another cometh.
Oh! I shrink from it i Dreary desolation strews
the sombre night-hued scene. But I must describe
it. That once plentiful home is now the abode of
want and poverty. Rum hath done its damned
work; robbed that once noble husband of reputation, of property, of health, of manhood, and made
him the dread of his children, an object of terror to
his wife, who, by the labor of her own hands, now
earns her own and her children's bread; and of
whose hard earnings she is often robbed to supply
her husband's insatiate appetite for drink.  Still
lower, and lower, and lower I see them sink in poverty and misery. Her strength begins to -fail; and
oh, she would willingly die; but who then would
care for her children?-who, though clad in the
tatters of poverty, are as dear to her as the lifedrops of her fainting heart.  She will live on, weep
on, pray on. Worse than widowed wife!  Worse
than orphaned children! My heart bleeds for you;
my hands stretch out toward you; my prayers ascend to God on your behalf!
These are no visions of a disordered imagination.
Their originals may be found in unnumbered instances, all through our land. And sad to tell, their
number is being fearfully multiplied. Uncounted
is the number of superior women, like Abigail, who




THE SUPERIOR WIFE.           219
are bound by life vows to inferior men like Nabal,
and far greater still is the number of kind, true women, whose husbands have become their inferiors
through the terrible influence of one of Nabal's
vices-intemperance.
Now the point before us is, that in the conduct
of Abigail, women thus situated see their duty illustrated.
How did this noble wife of a drunken churl deport herself? Did some well-dressed, soft-spoken,
promise-making, but false-hearted devil in a gentlemanly form lead her away from the path of virtue
into the hell-ward road of sin?  Nay, nay! Did
she allow her husband's harshness to spoil her own
temper? or chafe, and fret, and scold, and by other
exhibitions of unkindness give him a seeming- pretext for his wickedness?  Did she make his home
unattractive, or her person disagreeable, or neglect
his interests? or by bitter complaints aggravate his
coarse nature P Verily not!
Study her history closely, and you will find that
she did all for him she could have done, had he been
all he ought to have been to her. Even when his
servant told her what his master had done, and the
consequent danger impending over all, you do not
find her pouring her grief into that servant's ear,
but maintaining silence in regard to what she dare
not deny.  She aroused her strong woman's energy
to save her husband's life and property. And in




220        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.,that scene of which I drew a word-picture, where
David was coming down from Mount Paran, and
Abigail with her gifts from  Carmel; remember,
her object was to allay the indignation of David,
which she could but admit to be just, and therefore
it was essential to. her purpose to frankly acknowledge that her husband was the foolish man David
had found him to be, and that the fault was wholly
his. This undeniable concession, under the circumstances, was as shrewd as it was kind, for she saved
thus the life of her husband.
Study her history closely, and you will perceive
that until the day of Nabal's death-though unloved, unappreciated, neglected and oftentimes
abused-amid it all she was evermore to him a true,
faithful, devoted wife.  Copy her example, all ye
who are in similar circumstances. Like her, be true,
and kind, and faithful. Like her, do what you can.
to make your home attractive, and by soft words
and tender regards, strive to win your husband back
to virtue and to happiness. Fret not, scold not, excite not by worse than useless recriminations. And
perchance ye shall be their saviors-as really, though
not in the same way as Abigail saved Nabal. Ah,
many a man there is, who once was the victim of
intemperance and kindred debasing vices, but who
to-day sits in the house of God a virtuous, sober
man —stands in community a respectable citizen,
saved from poverty and crime-redeemed from the




THE SUPERIOR WIFE.                  221
galling fetters of enslaving vice by the unwearied devotion of an Abigail-wife.   Or if success may not
crown your efforts, still do your duty tenderly, perseveringly, faithfully, prayerfully. Let the God of
Abigail be your God, your support, your consolation.  Cleave unto Him, and He will never forsake
yon.  He will nerve you in hours of weakness, comfort you  in  hours of sorrow, and show  you  the
mightiness of His grace in  its power to make you
equal to  your day-dark, stormy  and  troublous
though it be.
And 0 remember, that life's longest, most sorrowful day will close. The shadow of the death-night
will come, and forget not that" There is an hour of peaceful rest
To mourning wanderers given;
There is a joy for souls distressed,
A balm for every wounded breast;'Tis found alone in heaven.
There is a home for weary souls,
By sins and sorrows driven,
When tossed on life's tempestuous shoals,
When storms arise, and ocean rolls,
And all is drear —-'tis heaven.
There faith lifts up the tearless eye,
The heart no longer riven,And views the tempest passing by,
Sees evening shadows quickly fly,
And all's serene in heaven.




222            REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
There fragrant flowers immortal bloom,
And joys supreme are given;
There rays divine disperse the gloom;
Beyond the dark and narrow tomb
Appears the dawn of heaven."




SHEBA'S QUEEN,I Kings 10: l: " And when the Qnecrn of S/heba heard of the fae
of Solomton, concerning i te ame of the Lord; she came to prove
him with hard questions."
A LADY friend remarked, " There is so little sail
in the Bible respecting the Queen of Sheba, that I
wonder how you can lecture upo-n her."  That was
a thoughtful and significant expression. True, but
little is said of her; some might think-the brief
record insignificant: but is anything in nature or
in the Bible insigncficant?  Whenever we speak of
anything in nature as small or insignificant, we
speak comparatively, referring to its relative, and
not its absolute importance; for there is not a particle of air, whether whispering in zephyrs, or wailing
in blasts: nor atom of matter, whether glittering
in the gem that sparkles on the breast of beauty,
or giving nutriment to the deep sunken root of the
oak; whether it goes to constitute the flower that




224         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
" blooms unseen," or to make up the pine-tree that
sighed over the home of your youth;
" There is no weed flung from the rock to sail
Where'er the surge may sweep or tempest breath prevail;"
or tiny insect that floats for an hour in the sunbeams, and then is seen no more; there is nothing
above, around, beneath us, however apparently insignificant, which is not essential to God's idea of
this world.  Drops make up the ocean, and sands
the ocean's shore. Atoms constitute the globe, and
the globe is but an atom  in the formation of a
universe.
Thus as in God's material world, we find it in
God's Bible.  How many apparently small things
you find here recorded.  Some have thought this
unworthy of a book claiming to be written by inspiration of Deity; but in this, is it not like His
book of Nature?  Look over the world, and you
will see but few vast mountain elevations, while there
are innumerable hillocks; but few great rivers, while
there are innumerable rivulets; but few broad oceans,
while there are innumerable lakes; but few mighty
cataracts-God thought one like Niagara, enough
for a Continent-while there are innumerable waterfalls.  So in the Bible, we discover mountain elevations and ocean depths of truth; ever-flowing rivers
of consolation; cataract dashings of indignation and
denunciations; but these are intermingled  with




SHEBA'S QUEEN.              225
scenes of soft beauty; echoes of living voices; fragrance of richest flowers of truth, found in records
of individual life or national history. It requires
but a comprehensive understanding on our part to
perceive, that as in Nature, so here, every apparently small portion is a part of one grand whole; that
all are requisite to the perfection of God's idea of a
book for the world.  The record, brief indeed, of a
visit of a queen to a king, may at first seem unimportant; but as we proceed, I trust you will find it,
full of information in regard to those distant lands,
and equally full of instruction to us all.
It is my first duty, preparative to what I have to
say regarding the Queen of Sheba, to glance at the
history and character of the king she visited. His
father, David, had been a man of war, whose prowess
had overawed the enemies of Israel, and whose enterprise had vastly increased its wealth, and enlarged
its domain.  At his death, Solomon, though only
eighteen years old, ascended the throne and reigned
forty years. His name signifies the naturally pacific
character of his mind, with which the placid state
of national affairs was eminently congenial. His
first public act, was to build a temple unto the
Lord, in obedience to the injunction of his dying
father.  He located it on Mount. MIoriah, and in its
architectural grandeur, and ornamental wealth, it
has never been surpassed. During seven years and
a half the huge edifice arose in silence. Enormous
10*




226         REPRESENTATIV.E WOME N.
stones were so hewn and fitted that they- were put
together without the "' sound of, an axe or a ham]mer."
"No workman's steel, no ponderous axes rung,
Like some tall palm, the noiseless fabric sprung."
By vast public works, before unknown in Judea, he
gave a mighty impulse to all the industrial arts. —
By establishing commercial relations with distant
nations, he elevated the commerce of Israel to an
equality with that of any other people; and his
treasury overflowedwith almost inconceivable wealth.
Moreover, he possessed eminent wisdom. For
this he had prayed to God, and the fame of it had
reached "the uttermost parts of the earth."  His
knowledge of natural philosophy, of the art of government, his general information and practical wisdom-developed in his three thousand proverbsplaced him high among the world's sages, and his
ten hundred and five poems ranked him among the
first of Eastern poets: in a word, such was the gorgeousness of his palaces the splendor of his court,
the number of his attendants, the vastness of his
public operations, the prosperity of his government,
the pomp of his public occasions, the homage paid
him by surrounding nations, the dignity of his person, the variety of his accomplishments, and the
peaceableness of his reign, that the phrase, " The
glory of Solomon," became familiar in the literature




SHEBA'S QUEEN.              227
of all civilized lands.  Eight millions of people glotied in being his subjects; and, having married a
daughter of Pharaoh, he became allied to the proud
potentate of the Nile, and thus reached the loftiest
round in the ladder of human ambition.
A  distinguished writer has declared it to be a
general truth, " that every man has a dark period
in his career, of longer or shorter continuance,
whether it be publicly known or not."  I presume
this statement will hold good as a general truth:
certain it is, that Solomon, whom  Coleridge calls
"' the grand monarque of Israel," sinned deeply and
darkly. The fall of a tree is proportioned to its
size, height, and breadth of its ramifications.  The
puny cedar may fall unnoticed; but wher the huge,
hundred-branched oak falls, the crash, sounding
like crushing thunders, frightens birds and beasts,,and awakens distant echoes; and yet- the unobserved
wreck of the insignificant cedar levels it upon the
same cold ground where lies the prostrate forestking.  The fall of Solomon was proportioned to the
elevation of his personal and official dignity; that
was so lofty, that his moral wreck filled the world
with dismay, and its sad echoes yet reverberate
wherever his history is known.  His character was
collossal in every respect, therefore when he sinned,
it was with a high hand; and when the awful hour
of remorse came, his groans sounded like those of
C" a demi-god in torment;" thus in virtue land vice,




228        REPRESENTATIVE WOMENo
he was equally great. "Like a pyramid, the shadow
he cast in one direction was as vast as the light ho
received in the other."
Do you ask what corrupted this noble man, whose
boyhood and early manhood were models of purity —
on whose young head a pious father's benedictions
were pronounced-and who, in his twenty-eighth
year, amid the gathered thousands of Israel, dedicated, by solemn rites, the glorious temple to its
more glorious God?  Do young men ask, "What
was the rock in life's broad ocean, upon which this
splendid, heavy-freighted vessel dashed and was
wrecked?",I answer, in warning tones-it was
luxuriouzs indulgence! This gradually undermined
the moral foundations of his character-weakened
the power of his moral principles-Delilah-like,
sheared him of his Sampson locks, and made him
fall an easy prey to debasing vice. What a lesson
this teaches! And for this purpose, God hath recorded it in the Bible, that all men, of all time,
may read it. I say, what a -lesson it teaches us of
the inefficiency of mere position in society; of mere
cultivation of taste and intellect; of wealth and
reputation, to guard against moral contamination.
Oh! we see that these alone form as poor a protection from the storm of temptation as a tent of spider-web to a traveler seeking shelter from the pitiless tempest. I need to call your attention to but
one more fact in this connection, and that is an im



SHEBA'S QUEEN.            229
portant one. Solomon did not become a corrupt
man until long after the visit of Sheba's Queen.Bear in mind that he reigned forty years, and that
it was noft until the thirtieth year of his reign that
he became corrupt. This visit was before he had
reigned twenty years, while he sustained the character of a religious man, a pure husband and father,
a just, enterprising, and wondrously wise king. It
was at the culmination of his glory, while his fame,
like a sun, was flinging its dazzling splendors over
the world, when it attracted the regal mind and
heart of the Queen of the South. But who was
this Southern Queen?  Tradition says that her
name was Balkis; and we know that she sat on the
throne of Sheba-her native land.
The locality of this country has been controverted. Inasmuch as Ham's son Cush, who had a
descendant called Seba, and settled in Africa-now
called Ethiopia-many have believed that she came
thence. This view, however, is now generally abandoned.  The popular belief is, that inasmuch as
Abraham's grandson, Sheba, by Ketura, settled in
the southern part of Arabia-located between the
Red Sea and the Indian Ocean-from whom the
country was called in ancient times, Sabea, and in
modern times by geographers, Arabia Felix; and
by poets, "Araby the blest," but now bears the
name of Yemen, that this was the locality of Solomon's royal visitor's home. It ought, however, to




230           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
be borne in mind, that ancient Ethiopia was not confined to the limits of the country that now bears
that name, it included a part, at least, of Arabia; so
that while Balkis may have reigned over a portion of
ancient, she did not reside in modern Ethiopia. The
division of Arabia over which she reigned is as large
as the whole of New England and New York. In
contrast with other portions, it has always been distinguished for  beauty, fertility, mineral wealth,
gums, perfumes, and spices.   The richest spices
used in this country come from that oriental clime.
Your Mocha coffee comes from  the land where the
Queen of Sheba lived; where still the palm, orange,
sycamore and apricot abound; where still dwells
the antelope, the gazelle and gorgeous birds of every
hue.  The Persian Gulf on the one side, furnishes
the finest pearls, and the Red Sea on the other, the
richest corals.   It is her country of which Milton
says"To them who sail
Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past
Mozambique, off at sea north-east winds blow
Sabean odors from the spicy shore
Of Araby the blest."
It is her land which is thus described in Lallal
Rookh" Glistening shells, of every dye
Upon the margin of the Red Sea lie.
Each brilliant bird that wings the air is seen;
Gay, sparkling loories, such as gleam between




SHEBA'S QUEEN.               231
The crimson blossoms of the coral tree,
In the warm isles of India's sunny sea;
And those that under Araby's soft sun
Build their high nest of budding cinnamon,
In short, all rare and beauteous things that fly
Through the pure element, here calmly lie
Sleeping on light."
in the Bible we have no account of the personal
appearance of the Queen of this beautiful country,
but it may interest you to know, that Baron De
Sarrey, surgeon-general of Napoleon's army  in
Egypt, wrote thus of the people who still live in
that land:' Their physical structure is, in all respects. more perfect than that of Europeans, their
figure, robust and elegant, and their intelligence
proportionateto their physical perfection."
You may ask, " Why did she leave her home, and
phrone, to visit Jerusalem and Solomon?"   Every
pure and ingenuous mind will be satisfied, while remermbering that impartial history has left no spot
up6n her fair fame, remembering the unsullied
character Israel's king then possessed, and the testimony borne as to her purpose by the immaculate
Jesus-nearly a thousand years after her deathwhen he said, " She came to see the wisdom of Solomon."  I say every pure mind will believe the record which says,'; When the Queen of Sheba heard
of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the
Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions."
Doubtless she had become dissatisfied with the religious system in which she had been educated-un



232        ]REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN,
able as that system was to answer the great questions that rose up within her mind-unable as it
was to satisfy the yearnings of her immortal nature,
which clamored for a purer enjoyment than luxurious ease could afford in the present life, and for
something grander and more exalted in the life to
come, than the transmigration of Hindoo philosophy, or the sublimated sensualities of an Arabian's
heaven could promise; and having heard of the
wisdom of the man of the north, she resolved temporarily to leave her throne and gorgeous home to
visit him, and find that wisdom she could obtain
from no other source. Noble woman! her mind, in
its capacity and thought, was far ahead of her age.
It must be remembered, that at the time considerable trade was carried on between her country
and Judea-caravans came and went from ShebaSolomon's ships ploughed the adjacent Red Sea, and
doubtless it was through these means that she heard
the wondrous history of the Israelites, and the
more wondrous history of their monarch. The preparations for her journey were made on a scale commensurate with her official dignity, and committing
her government to some trustworthy officer, and selecting her richest gems, gold and spices, summoning a retinue of her finest soldiers and best servants,
she commenced her journey to Canaan.
From other sources we know the traveled route
from Sheba to Judea, which must have been the one




SHEBA9S QUEEN.             233
that Balkis and her retinue passed over. Her course
at first lay between the Red Sea and the Porphyry
mountains: the first city she met was what is now
called Mecca, where then stood a pagan temple with
three hundred and sixty images-now of course a
Mahomedan sanctuary.  Then she passed the burning springs, which are surrounded by perpetual
vegetation. The second city she passed is what is
called Medina, where is now the tomb of Mahomet,
with its four hundred columns and three hundred
lamps, which are kept constantly burning; a few
days travel beyond that brought her in view of
Mount Horeb and Sinai. With what awe must she
have looked upon their desolateness! for traditions
of the awful scenes enacted there, embellished with
all the copiousness of a luxuriant oriental fancy,
doubtless had reached her ears and invested them
with an indefinable, strange mysteriousness. Next
arose before her the hills of Arabia, beyond which
she entered upon the barren desert, and traversing
its sandy wastes, she came to the Dead Sea, in whose
waveless bosom cities lie entombed; then fording
the ever-flowing Jordan she entered into Canaanand inasmuch as southern caravans always went
northward in the spring, Judea must have looked
surpassingly beautiful in its spring-tide luxuriance,
for the winter was past and gone, flowers and singing birds appeared, the voice of the turtle-dove was
heard in the land, the fig-tree was putting forth its




234         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
green figs, and the vines their tender grapes, perfuming all the air. Then directing her course towards
Jerusalem, she came to the Mount of Olives, upon
whose sacred height, one thousand years afterward,
our Saviour wept over a degenerate nation, and
passing over the same road he so often traveled
on his way to Bethany, she reached its summit,
where far-famed, hill-throned Jerusalem burst upon
her eagar gaze. Descending the mountain and crossing the brook Kedron, she was received by Solomon
with a cordiality and splendor worthy of the most
regal monarch on the globe.  Her journey completed in safety, her welcome all that her woman's
heart could have desired, after the requisite repose,
she sought that wisdom, to know which, had been
the object of her visit.
She could learn the wisdom of Solomon from two
sources:
First-From  his works. These were all around
her; and in the architectural grandeur of his edifices, the beauty of his ivory throne, with its twelve
carved lions, in the splendor of his chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen; in the taste displayed
in his gardens of pomegranates and cinnamon; his
orchards filled with fruits of every kind, and abounding with gushing fountains and placid pools; in the
order of his vast household; the peace and prosperity of his people; his encouragement of the arts 
in theses I say, she saw the practical developments




SHEBA'S QUEEN.             235
of that wisdom, whose fame had reached "the uttermost parts of the earth."
Second —From  himself.  We read,  that when
she came to him, she communed with him of all that
she had in her heart." She told him of the great
themes on which that heart loved to dwell, but in
regard to which she was unsatisfied. Adopting the
Eastern method, she propounded to him riddles,
problems, fables, apologues, and allegories.  To
these he responded, developing all the resources of
his knowledge, and the dexterity of his wisdom. —
The result of this two-fold development, in words
and works, so overpowered Sheba's Queen, that
"'there was no more spirit in her;" and she said,
D" It was a true report that I heard in mine own
land of thy acts and thy wisdom. Howbeit, I believed not the words until I came, and my eyes had
seen it; and behold! the half was not told me.Thy wisdom  and prosperity exceedeth the fame
which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are
these thy servants which stand continually before
thee, and that hear thy wisdom! Blessed be the
Lord thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee
on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he thee king, to do
judgment and justice."  Then having presented the
munificent gifts she had brought with her, she returned to her distant home.
This- Scripture sketch is profitable to us



236        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
1. Because it presents to us a woman occupying
a different station from any we have yet contemplated
in these lectures. It is —
Woman on the throne of empire. History shows
that there is no station in life which at some time
has not been occupied by a female —from the lowliest to the loftiest.
Deborah was a judge in Israel in her day, as truly
as Samuel was in his. Many a diadem has sparkled
upon the female brow-Semiramis in Assyria, Zenobia in Palmyra, Catharine in Russia, Elizabeth in
England, Isabella in Spain, Joanna in Sicily, Maria
Theresa in Austria: these and many others have
graced the thrones upon which they sat, shed additional lustre on their country's glory, and blessed
the age in which they lived. Jael, the destroyer of
Sisera-her country's foe; Joan of Arc, who fought
her nation's battles; Martha Glar, the heroine of
Switzerland, who led two hundred women to the
gory field of Fran-en-brun, in defense of Liberty;
Volumnia and Virgilia, the mother and wife of Coriolanus, who saved Rome by their appeal to the
heart of the indignant warrior; Lady Jane Grey,
who preferred imprisonment and death rather than
have English blood shed in defense of her claims. —
Unnumbered women —our own fore-mothers —during
Revolutionary periods, exhibited in a thousand instances all the elements of highest heroism.
This fact in the history of women indicates the




SHEBA S QUEEN.             2.37
capacity of the ferale maind, properly educated, to
meet any exigency to which the providence of God
may call it. There are to-day only two queens —
Isabella of Spain, and Victoria of England. The
question may arise in your mind, Why is the number of females who occupy high official, political stations, less now than ever before? And why is it
that as civilization advances the impression deepens
on the public mind that such positions are not woman's truest and noblest ones? I answer —it is
not because a lighter estimate is placed upon female
mind and character than before, but because in the
history of Providences, and the development of our
own being, the true spheres of both sexes are better defined, and it is found that these spheres are
worthy of the largest capacities, and the highest
ambition of both sexes.
Man's sphere-by the rougher constitution of his
nature-is the more public one; that of womanby her more delicate organization-the more private,
but not the less honorable, or requiring the less
ability. Study the history of the world, and you
will find that God has never called woman out of
that sphere, only on occasions of signal necessity,
great exigencies, when men were not to be found
equal to the task. If such public exigencies arise
again, when men are either so debased or so selfimmolated that God cannot use them to perform
Work that legitimately belongs to them, He will find




238         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
heroic women adequate to the performance of that
work.  Hereafter, perchance, no women like Balkis
of "Araby the Blest," or Victoria of England, will
ever sit upon the throne of political empire. But
shall her sex, on that account, be dishonored? their
pride mortified?  Verily not; for as civilization
advances, woman shall be queen in a higher, nobler
sense: she shall be queen swaying an imperial sceptre over the human heart.  She shall be queen of
home, that sweet realm still spared of man's forfeited
paradise, out of which go influences that govern the
world. In that empire no gazette will herald her
victories; no prices current show her gains; no
California gold or Brazilian diamonds constitute her
diadem; no rolling drums or pealing trumpets make
her music; no fawning courtiers, or political demagogues, or armed soldiery be her attendants; but to
the eye of God and of humanity, her trophies of
goodness, her quiet gains of godliness, her coronet
of virtue, her sceptre of love, her music of homevoices, her husband and children, shall be her glory
-more permanent and glorious than the gore-dripping laurels won by warriors on battle fields, or those
gained by royalty amid the intrigues and pomp of
courts.
This sketch is profitable, I remark,
2. Because of the intellectual character of the woman it brings before us.
If Balkis was superior to most of her sex at that




lSHEBAS  QU-EEc.b
period, in official station, this, after all, was not her
chief superiority; that lay not in anything external
to her; not in the gorgeous throne on which she
sat; not in the jeweled diadem-that sparkled on her
brow; not in the royal palace in which she lived 
not in the vast wealth of her treasury, the numlber
of her happy subjects; nor the fertility of her beautiful country, but in herself, in her own mind and
heart.  Of herself she was superior to all these exiernalities; for we find her soul not sleeping in the
low animal life of the senses; her mind not occupied
with fashion, dress, and display; her heart not set
upon the gay amusements of the passing hour; but
we find her conscious of the hollow emptiness of all
these; awake to the superior dignity of her mental
and moral nature, desirous of obtaining knowledge,
of learning wisdom.
She: has exhausted.the learning of her own sages,
she has fathomed the depths of Arabian philosophy;
she has grasped all the breadths of a gorgeous Pagan
mythology; she has soared far above the loftiest
flights of oriental poetry; she is familiar with all
the glowing romance, which springs up so luxuriantly from Arabian ideality.  The praises of courtiers,
and an admiring people are continually in her ears,
but she is dissatisfied; there is still a void within
her soul which these cannot fill.  She hears rumors
of wisdom, high and lofty, possessed by the Jewish
monarch; gleamings of a strange northern light




240         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
have fallen upon her spirit: but it is dim, it is far
off, in a distant clime.  This would have discouraged
an inferior woman; but Balkis is not such an one,
therefore undismayed by the perils before her, unterrified, woman though she is, by intervening mountains, desert wastes, and bridgeless rivers, she determines upon a journey which will take her away
from the peaceful luxuries of home; a journey
which, in going and returning, will require her to
travel some three thousand miles, and such are the
poor facilities, that even a queen can command, it
will require nearly four months of time to consummate her purpose: and heroine that she was, she
accomplished it, in order that she might acquire
knowledge and learn superior wisdom.  0, how this
fact in her history, all radiant as it is with deathless glory, eclipses the mere dignity of her official
station, and the physical splendor of her surroundings! And so grateful was she for the benefits she
had received, that she presented Solomon gold,
amounting to one hundred and twenty talents, and
immense gifts of valuable spices, and precious stones.
In this, is she not an example for us all, and especiallyfor her own sex?  Is it not a mournful truth,
not to be concealed, that many females, especially
young women, of the present day, are unlike Sheba's
queen in this respect? Is it not an undeniable
truth, that the daughters' of wealthy families, to
whom the sources of knowledge are all open, are




SIEBA'S QUEEN.              241
*right glad, when their boarding school is finished,
and then give themselves up to fashionable display
and worldly hilarities? True, there are exceptions
to this; there are a few first-class scholars among
our young country women, such as Mary Sommerville, whose learned book on " The Connection of
the Physical Sciences," has won for her a trans-Atlantic reputation-but after all, is not the general
tact such as I have stated? Is not the number of
those who avail themselves of their opportunities of
acquiring knlowledge and seeking wisdom very few?
This is the reason why, in' our best society,"
there are so many more artificial ladies than really
wise women, while in other circles, where the opportunities of education are far less, they are not improved as they ought to be.  Do young women avail
themselves of their opportunities as they might?
Doubtless some do, but the most do not.  Many
young girls are taught, and believe, that what they
need, is fine clothing, gaudy jewelry, a polished exterior, graceful manners, and ability to talk and
dance; therefore their immortal natures are undeveloped, and at best they become but fair superficialities.
Under this fatal mistake, many a young woman,
who cannot do a sum in the simplest mathematics,
who knows no more of history than she does of science; is as ignorant of.literature as she is of the
stars; cannot parse a sentence, any more than she
11




242         REPrESENTATIVE WOMENo,
could unravel an eastern hieroglyph; -has not even
the ability to write a decent love-letter-is sent to
dancing schools, where her feet are educated, while
her head and her heart are left untaught, and uncared for. How much the blame of this rests upon
misguided parents, and a false public taste, God only
knows  but these are mournful facts, over which
every lover of humanity must weep.
O0 young woman, hear and believe me when I tell
you, that your mind is superior to your body —the
one an earthen casket, the other an immortal gem,
worth more than the material universe-hear and
believe me when I tell you, that no external acoomplishment can make up, in the sight of God, or of
a sensible man, for internal ignorance and uncultivation: that you may get all that the milliner or drygoods merchant, or jeweler, or perfumer can supply
you with; you may learn all that the most accomplished dancing-master —good God, what an occupation for a man! —can teach; you may be surrounded by all the gorgeousness which any station
can throw around you, and yet, be empty-minded
and hollow-hearted, be utterly destitute of all the
elements of womanly glory, unqualified for the stern
realities of life, unfit for those positions God meant
you should occupy, unprepared to fulfill the high dities of the present state, or endure the agonies of a
dying hour, or meet the fearful realities of eternity.
I speak not thus reproachfully, but in kind faithful



S]EBA'S QUEEr.             243
ness.  I appreciate genuine accomplishments of
person and manners, but I plead for your nobler,
higher nature, which these alone can never cultivate
or develope. I plead for your mind with its God-like
powers, capable of eternal expansion and acquisition
— your mind, which is to live when your body shall
have been food for worms, to live " when from heaven's imperial citadel shall toll the requiem of dead
nature in the tomb of chaos laid"-for it I plead.
Seek to cultivate it. Like Sheba's Queen, let no obstacle deter you from the pursuit of true wisdom,
which alone can develope and elevate you to an intellectual position worthy of your heaven-created
womanhood. Avail yourselves of what advantages
you have for acquiring information, for storing your
intellect with the imperishable wealth of knowledge;
seek for wisdom —practical and genuine wisdom —as
for hidden treasure; and if others will be the gaydecked, pleasure-seeking, sunbeam-loving, yet shortlived and useless butterflies of humanity, 0, be ye
true women! wise women! humanity's brightest
ornaments, humanity's nearest approximation to the
celestial glory of God's beautiful angels I
This historic sketch is also profitable to us —
3. Because of the religious elements it embodies.
I have developed her intellectual character. You
have seen her an acquirer of general wisdom, but
her intellect was only one segment in the circle of
her being. In every human nature there are three




244         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
departments-the physical, the intellectual, and the
moral or spiritual.  The physical is the lowest.
Your body is your most inferior part, for it allies you
to mere animals. Your intellect is next highest in
importance and dignity" There lies
A talisman in intellect, which yields
Celestial music, when the master hand
Touches it cunningly."
Intellect elevates you far above the highest instincts of the animal creation.  But it is your moral
nature, your highest, which allies you to God.
Now, there is reason to believe that Balkis gave
proper attention to her physical constitution —she
must have been a healthy-bodied woman, or she
could never have endured a journey which required
months in going and returning, and which stretched
over so great a distance. That she sought the cultivation of her intellect, the evidence I have adduced, is abundant. The question now is, did she
pay proper attention to her higher, her nobler, moral
and spiritual nature?  Judge ye, with the following facts before you. What was one of the elements of Solomon's wisdom that attracted her attention'?  Let the Bible answer.  It says,'" She
heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name
of the Lord." Is not that richly suggestive? Does
it not indicate that she wanted to know of the true
God?  It was then to know of Him, His nature,




SHEBA'S QUEEN.           245
7 -
her relation to him; it was to obtain this highest
of all wisdom, that formed:one of the leading objects of her journey.  And remember, that when
she was about to return to her own land, having
seen the wisdom of Solomon, and been made acquainted with Israel's God, and his connection with
the glory of the Hebrew nation, she uttered these
expressive and memorable words, c Blessed be the
Lord thy God which delighteth in thee, because the
Lord delighteth in Israel forever, he hath made thee
king to do justice and judgment."
Here I pause, and ask you to picture three scenes
in her life.
Let one be in Sheba.  Balkis is on her throne,
radiant with perfect health and gorgeous surroundings.
Let the second show Balkis a searcher after truth
— the highly intellectual woman questioning Solomon on deep points in philosophy and general knowledge.
Let the last represent the splendid woman appareled for her return journey, as with a grateful
heart and beaming face, in which are commingled
all the elements of sweetest beauty-she clasps
her hands, turns her moistened eyes heavenward, while from  her coral-lips issue praises and
adorations of Jehovah, the God of the whole earth.
Now, each of these pictures is beautiful, but the
last, combining all that is glorious in the first two,
has the superadded glory of religion.




246         REPRESEN TATIVE WOMEN.
I have said now all I wish to in regard to the
Queen of Sheba.   I now bid public adieu to the
brief Bible record off her history, over which I have
lingered with profit to my own mind and heart at
least.
In conclusion, let me urge upon her sex the duty
of copying her example, in this last important particular. 0, woman, rest not satisfied with attending to the culture of your body: it will fade like the
leaf, which in its bright greenness fluttered in the
summer breeze, but now, withered and torn from its
parent bough, is swept away by the careering wind.
Ah i that body on which you bestow so much care,
ere long will lie pale, and cold, and dead, wrapt in
its winding sheet and stretched out in its narrow
coffin, it shall be deposited in the dark sepulchre,
where the pale king of terrors sways his ghastly
sceptre; but" Strong as the death it masters, is the hope
That onward looks to immortality,
Let the frame perish, so the soul survive,
Pure, spiritual, and loving."
0 woman! rest not satisfied with the cultivation
of your intellect, for there may be, and often is,
high mental culture without moral purity, much
less religious experience. But while, as Queen Balkis did, you pay proper attention to physical and
mental culture, like her seek to know God, and
thus cultivate your higher, your immortal na



'SHEBA's QUEEN,            2'47,nre. And how far superior to hers are your op-'portunities for doing this I She had to travel thousand of miles to do it, but.grander revelations than
she found are blazing all around you; for in the
Bible is greater wisdom than even Solomon ever knew' The Queen of the South shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and condemn it, for she
came from the- uttermost parts of the earth to hear
the wisdom of Solomon; and behold t a greater
than Solomon is here."  In this book God is manifest in the flesh-here in the person of his son Jesus
Christ-who is both the wisdom and power of God,
is made manifest to you a Saviour-a loving, laboring, weeping, suffering, dying, atoning Saviourwho offers freely to make each of yon'" wise unto
salvation"-to remove your guilt, purify your hearts,
fill them  with ravishing joy; make you adopted
daughters of the Lord God Almighty.  Yea, here is
a Redeemer, Christ the Lord, who offers to become
your elder brother, as well as redeeming Saviour;
to clothe your naked souls with the white robe of his.own righteousness —that robe which even the icy hand
of death shall not be able to tear from your spirits
-that justifying righteousness which shall open
heaveni's crystal portals to you, and place on your
immortal brows a crown of glory, far surpassing the
jeweled coronet of Sheba's Queen, and give you a
throne, infinitely more exalted than that on w.hiont
ohe sat.




248         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
0 woman! surrounded by the allurements of a
deceitful world; exposed to the fascinations of godless pleasures, which injure the health of the body,
weaken the power of the mind, plant thorns in dying pillows, shroud eternity with hopeless gloom -
young woman! sister! exposed to dire temptations
which jeopardize your mortality and immortality —
fly, oh, fly to those open arms which were once
nailed to the bloody cross for thy redemption!  Take
shelter in the love of that infinite heart whose mighty
throbs yearn toward thy welfare! Listen to those
kind words which invite thee to Christ —to heaven;
and if you ever become a true Christian; if you
ever sit at Jesus' feet and learn of Him; if you
ever know Him whom to know aright is life eternal,
you will say as Balkis did, but with deeper emphasis, " Surely the half was not told me!" —the matchless glories that in my Saviour dwell had never
been revealed to me in all their fullness of life, light,
and joy.




ES T HE R,
Esther 7 3.-" "Ten Esther the Queen answered and said, If 1
have found favor in thy sight, 0 King, and if it please the King, let
my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request."
THEu significancy of Jewish names is deeply interesting. Think of the names of those who have been
the subjects of our preceding lectures: Eve signifies
"life, the mother of all living;"  Sarah, " lady,
princess of a multitude;" Rebekah, "portly and fair;"
Jochebed, " glorious, honorable;" Miriam, "judgment;" Ruth, " satisfied;" Abigail, " the joy of a
father."  Thus is it with their names of men: Adam
means " red, earthy man;" Abraham, " the father
of a multitude;" Isaac, " laughter;" Jacob, " the
supplanter;"  Joseph,  " enlargement;"  Moses,
"drawn out of the water;" Aaron, " teacher;"
Joshua,' savior;" Saul, "the demanded  one;"
David, " the well-beloved," Solomon, " peaceful."
And you recollect that it was said of our Lord, that
11*




250         REPRESENTATIVE WOMBIEN.
"His name should be called Jesus, because he should
save his people from their sins."  Thinli of the singular significance of the name Esther: it means
cc a star." Understanding its appropriateness, her
name is beautiful, indeed; for what in all nature is
so full of lustrous, permanent, steady beauty as a
star, beaming forth out of its home of everlasting
blue-sometimes upon unbroken masses of stormclouds-oftener through their wild rifts, and oftener
still silvering the black masses of night, guiding the
traveler on his solitary way, or directing the billowtossed mariner toward his desired haven?   We
speak of the star of hope, the star of joy, the star
of superiority. All this, Esther was to her people.
In the splendid galaxy of Hebrew women of the
olden time, no name stands more prominent, or
shines with a richer lustre; no character combines
more of the physical and moral elements of womanly dignity and glory than hers. To her an honor
is given, which is shared by only one other female
of the race. In the Bible —this embodiment of
God's revealed will to man-one book bears her
name.  There it stands, with that of Samuel the
judge, David the psalmist, and the grand old prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah.
The scenes recorded in this book occurred in Persia.  Hiow came Esther there?  A  review of the
Bible history will answer that question. The historical period intervening between the point at which




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.     2W
we left it in our last lecture, and where we now
commence it, stretches over more than five hundred
and ninety-three years. We left it during the time
of Solomon's fearful wickedness. Men have condemned Solomon's debauchery; but their condemnation, compared with that of God, has been only
as a whisper to a thunder crash. God said to him,
"'Forasmuch as thou hast not kept my covenant,
and my statutes which I have commanded thee, I
will surely rend the kingdom from thee." And He
did do so: although, on account of his father David,
Solomon's son, Rehoboam, was permitted to ascend
the throne —still, during his reign, the once united
kingdom was divided, never more to be reunited.The ten tribes made Jeroboam their king, and were
called "'the kingdom of Israel;" while only two
tribes, those of Judah and Benjamin, remained under Rehoboam, and constituted " the kingdom of
Judah."  During the period of four hundred- and
sixteen years, between Solomon's reign and the Babylonish captivity, nineteen kings reigned over Israel,
and twenty over Judah.  The most of both these
lines  were wicked men, and devastating wars were
carried on between them. During this period, also,
Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, and all the lesser
prophets lived, and -wept, and wrote. On account
of their wickedness, twice the nation was sufferedl
to be made captives by their proud foes; and still
they persisted in their rebellion against God: on




252        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
account of which, He- permitted Shalmanezer to
carry Israel captive to his Assyrian capitol. Subsequently, Nebuchadnezzar despoiled Jerusalem, anid
led Judah captive to Babylon. This captivity continued seventy years. During it they were humbled,
became penitent, and their feelings are described
with mournful tenderness in the one hundred and
thirty-seventh psalm: "By the rivers of Babylon
there we sat down-yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows,
in the midst thereof; for there they that carried us
away captive required of us mirth, saying, sing us
one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the
Lord's song in a strange land?  If I forget thee, O
Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to
the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem
above my chief joy."
Finally, God raised them  up a deliverer in the
person of Cyrus, the king of Persia, who, having taken
Babylon, gave the Jews permission to return to their
own land.  Many availed themselves of the opportunity, but others, won by the noble conduct of their
deliverer, accompanied him to Persia, and took up
their permanent residence there. This accounts for
the residence of Mordecai and Esther in Persia.
Such is the briefest possible outline of the sacred
history, during the five hundred and ninety years
from Solomon to Esther.




THIE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.     253
I propose now to present for your consideration,
a series of panoramic views sketching the entire
narrative..
View 1st. Ahasuerus, the royal son of Cyrus, is
on the throne.  His kingdom embraces one hundred
and twenty-seven provinces. It is enriched by the
accumulated treasures, not only of its own vast resources, but by trophies won by its victorious arms
from an immense territory, stretching from Indus
to Ethiopia. Shushan, its capitol, rises before us,
with its gorgeous palaces and odoriferous gardens,
which make the air redolent with perfume.  Its
architectural products are amazing.  Moctern travelers pause in wonder over their ruins, strewn
though they are by the " ashes of wasting ages."
They pause in awe-struck admiration before the
mutilated remains of vast columns and beauteous
architraves, which constituted the buildings at the
period when our view opens. The palace of Ahasuerus, combining all the grandeur that highest art
could conceive, or unbounded wealth purchase, occupies the foreground. A festival, commemorative
of his victories, has been ordered by the king, which
is to continue seven days.
We are introduced to the court of the garden of
the palace, whose canopy, couches and tesselatecl
floor are thus described —" The hangings are white,
green and blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and
purple, to silver rings and pillars of marble."  The




2 54        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
beds upon which the guests recline, are CCof gold
and silver, upon a pavement of red and blue and
black and white marble."  Allow me to divert your
attention from this scene, for a moment, to give you
an interesting fact. The Commission, appointed to
trace out the line between Turkey and Persia, discovered the remains of Shushan, as mentioned in
the books of Esther and Daniel. The pavement, as
described in the former, still remains; and not far
from the palace is a tomb, on which is sculptured
the fiygre of a lion springing on a man.  Returning
to our view, you observe that distinguished guests
crowd the hall. The revelry begins; jeweled goblets circulate freely; the tables are loaded with
luxuries. Six days of wild hilarity are passed. —
Ahasuerus has become wild with wine. On the seventh day, in a drunken freak, listening to the serpent
words of an enemy of the Queen, he orders that
Vashti, in jeweled robes and diadem, unveiled, shall
grace the feast. It is contrary to custom for a lady
to appear unveiled before others than her husband,
and the royal woman, to whose beauty and purity
history hath borne witness, shrinking from appearing thus before a crowd of intoxicated nobles, indignantly refuses to obey. The debauched king fancies himself insulted, in the presence of the representatives of his empire.  Her enemies fan the
flame of his indignation.  How shall he vindicate
his injured honor? The suggestion is at hand. —




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.      255
lie adopts it: he will divorce his wife. The deed
is done. The noble Vashti is banished in disgrace,
and information of the fact is communicated through
the kingdom.
View 2d. Months have elapsed. The wrath of
the king is appeased; but he is troubled by memories of Vashti, his abused, disgraced wife. His
servants see it, and make a proposition, which is
devised, in order to secure him a wife in Vashti's
place. The news that a queen is to be chosen by
the king, flies with electric speed throughout the
kingdom. Numerous aspirants to this dignity are
to be chosen.
Just outside Shushan, in an. humble dwelling
shaded by palm trees, and adorned by flowers, lives
a Jewish family, who are not known as Jews to the
Persians. It consists of an aged man named Mordecai, and a fair young woman-an orphan maiden
-his cousin, who bore the name of iHadassar, or
Esther.  Miordecai, who knows her surpassing
beauty and admirable grace, proposes that she, for
the good of her people, shall compete with darkeyed maidens from India and Ethiopia, ruddy damsels from Babylon, beauties from Georgia, Circassia, and Persia, for the lofty dignity. Esther is no
bold heroine in the ordinary acceptation of the
term. She is mild as a summer breeze, gentle as a
dove, beauteous as a star, modest as a lily, and
pious as the holy ones of old; but for her people




256         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
she will pass the trying ordeal. Arrayed in rich
apparel, attended by her uncle, we see her enter
the palace, with her soft, dark eyes downcast; her
fair cheek pallid; her pure heart beating with excitement, as if it would break through its living
barriers. Like a dream of loveliness, she bends before the monarch. He does not know that she is a
Jewess, but her exquisite beauty, her unparalleled
modesty, her symmetrical form, her glorious facewhere high intellectuality and still higher moral
purity blend —win his heart; and while he hears
the soft tones of her voice, and feels the power of
her dewy eyes, rejecting all others, with his own
hands he places the gorgeous coronet upon her
splendid brow, and makes her Queen instead of
Vashti.
View 3d. Five years have passed away. Another
court scene opens before us. The King, for reasons
unknown, has elevated Haman —a descendant of
Agag, the Amalekite, whom Saul spared, but Samuel destroyed, at the command of God-to be his
special favorite, and placed him above all the Persian princes. Obsequiously, all the subordinate officers and servants bow in reverence to this haughty,
proud Amalekite, the hereditary foe of Israel. But
his attention being called to it by those who seek
his favor, his keen eye detects one venerable form
that never bows when he approaches. Whetherhe
walks, arrayed in the gorgeous apparel of a royal




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.      257
favorite, or rides upon a richly decked Arabian charger, surrounded by reverent throngs, again and again
his eagle eye sees that ever-erect head and form, with
arms calmly folded on its breast, standing like a
marble statue, while all others kneel. The sight
irritates and maddens him. And it is to his mind
the more aggravating, because he 1knows that Mordecai is one of the hated Jews. In his soul he vows
revenge; but he proudly scorns to lay hands upon
Mordecai alone: that would be poor satisfaction to
his wounded pride. He hates all the Jews; he remembers that their forefathers slew his progenitor,
Agag; and now he will slay all the thousands of
Jews in' the wide Persian empire. His plan is
formed. He goes to the King, and whispers in his
private ear: "There be certain people dispersed
among thy people who keep not the king's laws,
but have laws diverse of their own: therefore it is
not for the king's profit to suffer them. Let them
be destroyed. I will pay ten thousand talents to
those who have charge of the business." The king
falls into the snare. Remember, he does not know
that Esther is a Jew. He gives Haman full power
to frame and execute the law he wants, and gives
him his signet ring, that the law may bear the seal
of the monarch.  You can see the eyes of Haman
flash, and his cheeks glow with exultation, as, leaving the king with step more haughty than ever, he
executes the decree, affixes the royal seal, and by




258        REPRESENTATIVE WOIMEN.
swift messengers sends it to every part of the
realm.
Ah! he can more easily now endure the majestic
contempt of Mordecai as he passes his unbending
form, for he feels assured that, ere long, that hated
figure, which has seared the eyeballs of his pride,
shall writhe in the agonies of an ignominious death,
and that voice, which has never mingled with the
praises of admiring crowds, shall mingle with the
death-groans of his slaughtered people.
View 4th. This is a sad and gloomy scene. The
bloody decree has gone forth. Do you remember
it?  Thus had Haman written it: "The king
commands to destroy, to kill, to cause to p'erish all
Jews-both young and old, little children and wo —
men —in one day, even the thirteenth day of the
twelfth month, and to take the spoil of them for a
prey."  Observe, Persia then included Palestine.
It is, therefore, a decree, whose execution will exterminate the race-blot out the very name of Israel from the earth.  Is it not indeed a bloody
one?  It falls like a thunderbolt upon the doomed
people. Full well they know the irrevocableness
of the laws of the Medes and Persians. 0, it seems
to them, in their agony, that the covenant promises
to their forefathers are all to be defeated. Every
where among them is great mourning, fasting, weeping and wailing. Husbands and wives, parents and
~hildren, gaze at each other tearfully, as victims




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.        259
doomed to a common massacre.  Family altars are
bathed in tears. The fearful decree, like a black
demon, flings its dark shadow o'er every Israelite.
One man seems to feel most deeply: it is Mordecai, the porter of the king's gate.  He rends his
clothes-and putting on sackcloth and ashes, goes
out into the midst of the city, and utters "a loud
and bitter cry."  All this hath been kept from Esther. She wonders, and is troubled at the agony
of Mordecai, and sends a messenger to know the
cause.  Her messenger returns with a copy of the
edict, and a charge from Mordecai that she should
plead with the king for her people.
Now see- her native timidity.  She sends this
message to Mordecai, as a reason for not obeying
his charge:' The law is, that if any man or woman
come into the inner court of the king uncalled by
him, certain death is the penalty; and I have not
been called to come in these thirty days."  MIark
Mordecai's indignant response: "; Think not that
thou shalt escape; for if thou holdest thy peace,
then shall deliverance come from another quarter;"
and closing with this thrilling suggestion, "Cwho
knoweth whether thou hast not come to the kingdomn for such a time as this?"
" Mourning within the palace, in her room,
The young Queen sits alone. A soft perfume
Mingles its odors with the evening breeze,
As steals it through the garden's fragrant trees,




1260           REPRESENTATIVE  WOMEN.
Ere fanning her white brow. Soft music is
Upon the air-the wild bird's joyous notes
Are gushing forth. A jeweled coronet
Is gleaming close beside her. Not as yet
Have tears bedimmed its lustre, nor has care
Made that light crown too wearisome to bear.
And yet her brow
Is sad; and in calm, motionless despair,
Her small white hands are clasped. Why mourns she now.'Tzs for her nation, heaven's peculiar trust
In years long past, now bowing to the dustCondemned to die to gratify the pride
Of one weak man; and she, the monarch's bride,
Is of the number, though he knows it not."
Esther, now conscious of her danger, quickly sends
this answer: " Go gather all the Jews in Shushan,
and fast ye for me three days and nights. I also
and my maidens will fast: so will I go in unto the
king, which is not according to law, and if I perish,
I perish." Those words sound like the low, sad
wail of expiring hope.
View 5th. Behold Esther in the foreground of
this scene, with royal apparel thrown aside, kneeling in agony before Him  whom  she has always worshiped  in secret.   She has fasted two  days and
weary nights. Grief has made inroads upon her
beauty.  Her lustrous eyes are dimmed with weeping.  Her lips are parched and dry.  But her plan
is formed, and she has staked her life upon the issue. She bath not seen the king in thirty days,
and does not know but that he is alienated from




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.       261
her, and desires her death. Life is the penalty to
be paid by all who approach the king uncalledBut she will, she must go in unto him.  Her poor,
crushed, agonized people have no other hope. She
will go in, although " it is not according to law;"
and her martyr determination is, "'if I perish, I
perish!" Arising, she washes away, so far as she
can, all traces of her suffering braids more carefully than ever before her long b)lack tresses, and
arrays herself in apparel that best adorns her radiant beauty; for if ever she appeared lovely in her
husband's eyes, she must appear transcendantly so
now. At last, she is ready. The moment of destiny hath come.  Visions of murdered innocency
fortify her courage. Tremblingly and softly she
treads the gallery leading to the inner court.  She
hath reached the door.  The intensity of her emotions almost suffocate her.  Faintness begins to steal
over her frame. Rallying her energies, she parts
the curtain doorway, and enters, where to come unbidden is to forfeit life. But there she stands. The
monarch, hearing the rustling, turns around to see
who hath dared to break in upon his solitude. His
gaze falls upon his own wife. As he looks upon her
glorious beauty, he sees shrinking fear bowing her
form, big tears dropping from her dark eyelashes,
unwonted paleness on her polished brow.  She is
silent, but her unspoken appeal thrills his heart.She has broken the law, but, shall she die in all




262         REPRESENTATIVE WOME,.
that wondrous loveliness, unspotted innzoence, and
unselfish afection?  His humanity within him,
stronger than the law without him, answers no! no!
no! -  e will violate his own law.  IHe extends his
golden sceptre in token of welcome —overwhelmed
with joy she touches it, and then " sinks like a snow
wreath at his feet."  Kindly he says to her —  What
wilt thou, Queen Esther?  What is thy request?
It shall be granted thee, even to the half of my
kingdom." Esther has triumphed. And oh! blessed triumph, she knows that there is hope for her
people.  Shrewdly postponing her main request,
she merely invites the king and iHanan, to dine
with her that day.  The invitation is accepted. At
the banquet, again the king urges her to name her
request. I)eclining, she begs that they will dine
"' with her on the morrow." Although Esther is no
heroine, she hath what all women have —shrewdness; and influenced by this, she will not venture
her main request, which will involve the death of
his favorite courtier, until her n.finence over her
husband has reached its highest pitch.  Haman is
in ecstacy. Proudly he tells his friends, " The
Queen did let no man come in with the king unto the
banquet that she prepared but myself; and to-morrow am I invited unto her also with the king." —
Ah! Haman, Haman, Haman! To-morrow, tomorrow, to-morrow! If thou couldst foresee its
events, thou wouldst fly on the wings of the wind




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.       263
to thy distant native wilds! But so sure is he now
of wreaking his vengeance upon 3Mordecai, who
stood " unbending as'the proud old oak of the forest," while others were kissing the very dust of his
feet as he passed, that he erected a gallows fifty
cubits high, upon which he resolved to hang him
like a dog unfit to live.
View 6th.-It is night in Persia.  The king has
retired to his royal bedchamber. Silence pervades
the palace, but the monarch cannot sleep; although
his couch is made of down, and rich fragrance front
golden censers fills the air. His heart is troubled,
He cannot divine his wife's conduct.  He cannot
think what terrible emergency induced her, timid
woman as he knows her to be, to jeopardize her own
life. Arising, lie commands his servants to read to
him, to while away the tedious night, his governmental records; and he is astonished to find that
}Mordecai, who revealed the conspiracy of the chamberlains against his life, has never been rewacrded.
He is surprised at his own forgetfulness, which has
assumed the form of ingratitude.  Perchance, he
thinks, that as 3Mordecai had revealed that black
conspiracy through Esther, this is her secret.  She
wants justice done to her husband's deliverer who
saved him from assassination.  Early the next days
Haman appears; and he too has a request to make.
He has come to ask the life of Mordecai.  But the
king anticipates him with a question:  "WVhat shall




264       RTEPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
be done to the man whom the king delighteth to
honor?"  Exultingly, believing himself to be the
man, he replies,  Let him wear the crown royal,
the regal robes, and ride the king's horse through
the city, led by the highest noble in the land." But
he petrifies with horror, his blood curdles, while the
king commands him to do thus to Mordecai! However, he must obey; and oh! how his black heart
writhed, as he led the horse on which Mordecai
rode; and as the triumphal procession passed the
gallows he had erected, dark forebodings shivered
through his frame. At noon, but three persons
were in the banquleting hall-the king, Esther,' and
Hlaman. One hope yet remains to the Amalekite.
Although he may not hang him, yet the hated old
Jew smust die, by the execution ofthe decree which
exterminates his nation.
The banquet ends, and the king again urges her
to make known her request, with the assurance that
it shall be granted. With queenly dignity and
firmness Esther replies-" If I have found favor in
thy sight, 0 king, and if it please the king, let my
life be given me at my petition, and my people's at
my request. For we are sold, I, and my people, to
be destroyed, to be slain, to perish: but if we had
been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held
my tongue, although the enemy cannot countervail
the king's damage."  The enraged monarch demrands-" Who is he, and where is he that presumes




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.       265
thus in his heart?"  Esther, pallid as a marble
statue, slowly lifts her jeweled finger, and, pointing
at the trembling wretch by his side, reaplies-"That
wicked Haman."
View 7th, and last.  On the one side stands a
dismal gallows, on which dangles the dead body of
the wretched Amalekite. On the other we see Esther
making her final plea; for, though her life and that
of Mordccai is saved, the bloody edict is yet uncountermanded. For this she now pleads. Her plea prevails, her nation is saved; Mordecai is elevated to
the highest dignities, and the entire family of Haman
destroyed.
Now, while these views are fresh in our memories,
I beseech you to pause, and contemplate some meditations they suggest.
1. Have you observed that through all these views,
nothing has been said about God?  Did you notice
that He is not represented as speaking, or acting at
rll?  Did you know that the naime of God is not
once mentioned in all the book of Esther?  Such is
the fact. This may startle those of you who did not
know it before; but it need not disturb you; for, if
you understand the variety of God's methods in nature, and in grace, you shall understand this, Sometimes we see Him  putting in imotion, and guiding
long trains of events. At other times we see the
trains moving so as to accomplish His purposes; but
His arm is concealed.  Sometimes he allows himself
12




266         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
to be seen, as the cause of effects, and at other times
we are left to trace those effects up to their cause.
President Woolsey says: that " God is sometimes,
even to a philosopher, like a staple at the end of a
long chain." You go into a sculpture gallery, and
see that matchless work of art-the Greek Slave, by
Powers. No where do you see the name of the artist engraved on it. Is it on that account any the
less the outwrought ideal of the American sculptor's
mind and heart?  Look over the earth. You do
notfind the name of God impressed on the forest
leaves, or engraved upon the everlasting rocks, or
blazoned on the arching sky; is it any the less, however, the product of His creative energy?  You do
not hear His name carolled forth in the warbling of
birds. You do not hear His name in the eversounding' anthem of old ocean. But, do not these as well
as all other voices of nature, hymn the glory and
praise of their Creator?
Had the stars been so arranged, that by their very
positions all nations could have spelled out the word
God," would they have been any more the creations
of His power than they now are, in their constellated
magnificence, moving in majestic silence, and grand
harmony, around His central throne?  Thus is it in
His gracious operations. His pathway is often on
the deep waters, where we cannot even trace His
footsteps.  But we always feel His power.  Oftentimes clouds and darkness so obscure His throne,




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.       267
that we cannot see it; but we feel evermore the
sway of His governmeit. On this account one of
old exclaimed, " Verily, thou art a God that hideth
thyself." His operations are compared to the viewless wind —" Thou canst not tell whence it cometh,
or whither it goeth;" but you hear it sighing in
zephyrs, roaring in gales;you see it bowing great
forests, and lashing vast oceans into fury. Now God
is in the book of Esther just as He is in nature —unseen, but ever acting. The great unseen, but ever
felt God is in the book of Esther as your heart dwells
in your body, not visibly, hardly heard; yet thrilling in every nerve, coursing in every vein, giving life
and beauty to every part. Look at a picture in which
all my seven views are condensed, and see how the' thread of God's design to save his people, gradually formed the web of events." Behold the selfrespect and decision of Vashti; the wrath of the
king; the birth, and beauty of Esther; the treason
of the king's chamberlains; its exposure by Mordecai, who thus saves the king's life; his failure to reward his deliverer; Mordecai's independence; HEaman's wrath; the bloody edict; the queen's petition;
the strange wakefulness of the king on the night
preceding the petition; his unusual request to have
the chronicles read for his amusement; his discovery
of the debt he owes Mordecai; the opportune arrival of Haman in the morning, and the succeeding
events: I say, behold this crowded picture, and see




268       REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
how the purpose of God, developed nearly two thousand years before, to protect the Jews, from whom
the Messiah should descend, is accomplished under
His superintending providence, through the volitions
of both wicked and good men.
Let the history of Esther, then, hereafter, be to
us one. of the clearest illustrations of the providence
of our God, who gave us this record, wherein is no
mention of His name: but wherein we see the operations of His hand.  The book of Esther is like
that clock. I see its face, those figures tell me the
time.  I do not see the power that moves those
hands, but I know that it is there, just as well as if
the face were removed and all laid bare.
II. These views suggest a meditation upon the
power, criminality and results to its possessor, of
wicked pride.  In some of these scenes, you recollect, Haman has figured largely.  He was not a
Persian, but an Amalekite.  He must have been a
man of high order of intellect, of polished manners,
deeply versed in all the arts of a courtier: for,
foreigner though he was, he arose above all the Persian princes to the high position of the king's favorite.  He stood at the head of the native Persian
nobility.  But he must have been an exceedingly
proud man: and his political success unparalleled,
he allowed to foster his pride, until it became his
ruling passion, and exhibited itself in insatiable ambition, which, when wounded, begat a maddening




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.      269
thirst for revenge.  It would seem that his pride
might have been satisfied with the highest favor of
the king, the obsequiousness of proud nobles, the
obeisance of revering multitudes, even though one
single man, and he a Jew, did not offer incense at
his shrine.
But?Ingodly pride, like every other unholy passion, has a twofold effect: an inward and an outward one.  It makes a man ungenerous, meanly
selfish, and desolates his higher nature. Thus it
ravages his own being: then it works outwardly,
through the forms of ambition, envy and revenge,
leading its possessor to a series of small, contemptibly unworthy abuses, slanders of its object, and
afterwards to overt acts of downright persecution,
and often to actual murder.  See it operate in its
three forms of ambition, envy and revenge, in the
character before us.
An hereditary foe as an Amalekite, of the Jew
Mordecai, he felt that it would be peculiarly gratifying to his pride to have had him bow to him. But
Mordecai bowed not. Wounded pride strikes its
envenomed fangs into his own heart, and leaves its
poison there.  Now, all his greatness and power is
nothing. Sullen frowns wreath his brow. His wife
and friends become alarmed at his misery, and try
to remove it by speaking of the extent of his riches
and honors. Mark his reply —" Yet all this availeth me nothing so long as I see Mordecai, the Jew,




270        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
sitting at the king's gate."  0 the mystery of the
human heart! To this proud, ambitious, envious
soul, one little cloud obscures the whole heaven.
Miaddened, he resolves on the death of a man who
never did him an injury.  He cannot wait for the
general execution of the Jews, but resolves upon his
immediate death.  Do you know how high that
scaffold was?  It was seventy-five feet. Do you
know where he erected it?  It was immediately in
front of his own house, so that from his own gorgeous banquet-room he might see the last struggle
and hear the helpless death-cry of the man who had
wounded his pride. But ah, the retributive providence of God! On that very day, and on that very
gallows, his own proud form swayed in the breeze,
covered with ignominy.  Thus it often occurs"That he who digs a pit for his neighbor, falls into
it himself"  He, who, influenced by pride in the
form of envy, jealousy or revenge, seeks to injure
another, succeeds only in injuring himself.  His
efforts to tear down the:reputation of another, break
down his own. He who builds a gallows, on which
to. execute his neighbor, shall hang upon it himself.
He who thus " soweth to the wind, shall reap the
whirlwind."  Headlong passion shall hurl him down
the very precipice, over which he would unjustly
push another. Wicled efforts to obtain satisfaction
for a fancied wrong-this thirst for revenge, revenges itself upon his own soul. God give us pure




THE RESISTLESS rPETITIONER.       271
hearts; then we shall have clean hands. God give
us just views of ourselves and others, and then we
shall do justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly
before Him.
"When haughty guilt exults with impious joy,
Mistake shall blast, or accident destroyWeak man with impious rage, may throw the dart
But heaven shall guide it to the guilty heart."
It is an interesting fact that in commemoration of
the day appointed by Haman for the destruction of
the Hebrews, a feast was appointed, which is continued to the present time —it is called Purim.  At
its celebration the book of Esther is read, and at
the mention of the name of Haman the whole congregation stamp with their feet and cry —" Let
his name perish."
III. These views also suggest a meditation upon
the pcatriotic benevolence of Efsther-.  What is it
after all, in the character of Esther, which attracts
our admiration?  It is not her wonderful beauty.
It is not her strange good fortune, as the world
would call it.  It is not her queenly dignity, or her
great influence over the greatest monarch of the age.
No, no.  It is her sympathy with her people, though
poor captives, over whom "I the uplifted axe of potent despotism is upraised" to sweep them away forever.  It is her tender womanly compassion, which
bursts forth when she exclaimed in agony, "c How
can I endure to see the evil which is to come upon




272         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
my people?  How can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?"  Yea, it is her jeopardizing
her own life to save the lives of others, which she
did when she said, "' I will go in unto the king:
which is not according to law, and if I perish, I perish."  It is Esther, the petitioner for the safety of
her people.  It is Esther, the sweet pleader for
others at the risk of her own life. It is Esther, the
patriotic deliverer of thousands from death, which
forms the scene around which our hearts love to
linger, which an admiring world has gazed on in all
ages with praise, and which has enrolled her name
high among the patriotic daughters of Zion. I have
before said, that she was no heroine, in the ordinary
acceptation of the word.  In her nature the heroic
elements did not predominate.  You even see in
her traits of womanly weakness-delicate'female
shrinking from peril.  She was neither a Deborah
nor even an Abigail.  For them to have done what
she did, would have been a far easier thing, and
therefore less praiseworthy.  And it is this very
timidity which excites our sympathy and fires our
enthusiasm. 0, even in this selfish world such unselfish deeds move our hearts and call forth our praise.
Patriotism  in women has always been stronger
than in men.  It has not been theirs to exhibit
it in the halls of state, or on the battle-field, as men
have had the opportunity of doing, yet the records
of history show that other females besides Esther
have been the deliverers of nations.




THE RESISTLESS PETITIONER.      273
IV. But, to pious females in their spiritual relations to their kindred, the conduct of Esther presents an example worthy of their imitation. You
know, my friends, that your kindred, although not
under the condemnation of any human monarch or
human law, are, as sinners, condemned by their God,
the king of the whole earth. You know that while
Esther's kindred were under an unjust condemnation, your impenitent kindred, as violators of God's
law, as lovers of sin, as rejectors of Christ, are under a just condemnation.  You know, that while
Esther's kindred after all, were only exposed to a
temporal death, yours are exposed to the dismal terrors of an eternal one. And what is worst of all,
you know, that while Esther's kindred were in trouble about their condition, were weeping and fasting,
and making sad lamentations, your kindred, though
exposed to a far greater danger, are careless and unconcerned, even gay and hilarious. Was Esther in
trouble and anguish about her people, and will not
you feel for yours? —husband, brother, sister, child,
relative and friend? Can you not say as she did,
" How can I endure to see the evil which shall come
upon my people?" O go ye in unto the king on
their behalf. Ye shall encounter no such danger as
Esther did. The King is your Father. Approach
his mercy seat with your petition; ye shall find it
sprinkled over with atoning blood, and ye shall find
12'




274        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
an advocate there, whose brow wears the scar of the
crown of thorns, and whose body has the marks of
Calvary's five bleeding wounds, each of which shall
plead for the salvation of your loved ones. Did
Esther's earnestness increase as the time of their
execution drew near? let yours. And 0, remember, that to-day closes another year of their probation.
This year is dying.  I have heard its death wail
on the wintry blast. While I speak it is expiring.
Hear ye not the low groans of the dying year?
The period for the execution of God's law against
your kindred is drawing near.. Perchance thy husband, thy children, and many of thy friends, are
never to see the close of another year. The thread
of their life, perchance, is soon to be broken. Peradventure the blessed Spirit, whom they have so
long resisted, may be about to take His everlasting
flight.  0 my sisters, go ye sp2eedily in unto the
King on their behalf.  Peradventure ye may yet)
prevail. Peradventure the condemnation may yet
be removed-they may repent and sing with you in
glory for ever.
V. The example of Esther commends itself to yet
another class of persons, of which I hope there are
a few here to-day. Is there one person present, who,
by the Spirit, has become conscious of his danger,
conscious that he is under the condemnation of God's
holy law, and who is in trouble as Esther's kindred




THE RESISTLESS PETITICNER.       275
were?  Is there one here who hath said in his heart,
" I have lived too many years in disobedience against
God; I have lived for myself; I have sinned deeply, darkly sinned; 0 that my sins were pardoned,
my load of guilt removed! 0 that I were a Christian, that I could feel that God smiled on me, that
I was prepared to die, that I was sure of heaven?"
Friend, I have a message from the King unto thee;
He hath heard thy groans; He hath seen thy falling tears; His compassion is moved; He waits to
be gracious; He bids me say to thee, poor, trembling penitent, come in unto Him and live; for His
Son's sake, He will receive thee, He will blot out
thy transgressions, and remember them no more
against thee. Do you hesitate? iDo you fear as
Esther did? 0, nerve up thy soul, and exclaim"I can but perish if I goI am resolved to try;
For if I stay away, I know
I must forever die."
Bear your testimony, ye Christians who have thus
been in unto the King: were ye not received as Esther was?  Speak, then, a word of encouragement
to the weeper by thy side. Tell him there is hope,
pardon, and salvation for him, even as there was for
you. Tell him not to fear, not to delay, but even now,
in the last hours of a closing year, to approach and
live; and with the opening year, begin a new life
-a life for God and heaven.
VI. Another class may receive a warninq from Es



276        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN,
ther's example. Had she not petitioned the king,
she had perished as well as her kindred. So ye,
careless ones, unconcerned about the wrath of God
which abides upon you, the fault is your own, that,
to-day, ye are where Sinai thunders around you. —
0, you have not cared enough about the removal of
your condemnation, even to be troubled about it.Unlike Esther's kindred, you are not even anxious
for a pardon, much less have you ever prayedc' God be merciful to me, a sinner."  If you continue
as you are, the blame is your own. If you die unprepared; if, when the cold dew gathers on your
forehead, all the dismal terrors of a Christless deathbed are gathered around you; if at the judgment
day, standing at the left hand, you shall hear the
Judge say:  "Depart!"-and if you are banished
to that lone land of deep despair, the blame will be
your own.  You will remember that you knew
your duty, but you did it not: that God- invited
you; Jesus besought you; the Spirit urged you;
Christians begged you to approach and live; but
you would not.
0 friends, hear me to-day. I shall have no other
opportunity to speak to you in the year 1854. Hear
me when I warn you of your danger, of the condemnation of God's holy law; when I tell you that your future is dark and threatening. Hear me when I tell you
that the King is ready to pardon you. 0 hear me,
when, by all the mercies of a closing year, I beseech
you in Christ's stead, " Be ye reconciled to God."




ELIZABETH,
Luke 1: 45. And Elizabeth said-" Blessed is she that believeth,for
there shall be a peiformance of those things, which iwere told her from
the Lord."
PERHAPS you are surprised, that in this course of
Lectures, I have omitted so many leading female
characters of the Old Testament.  You have wondered why Rachel, the beloved wife of Jacob, the
devoted daughter of Jeptha, the grand and heroic
Deborah, the seductive Delilah, the pious Hannah,
the beautiful Bathsheba, the wicked Jezebel, the
hospitable Shunamite, the bloody Athaliah, and
others, have been passed by with scarcely a notice.
In thus doing, I have been influenced by three
considerations.  One has been, the fear of protracting the course beyond its interest.  Another, that
I have aimed at presenting only those types of women from which might be gathered the most practical instruction. Another, still, is found in the




278        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
design to give an outline, continuous sketch of
Bible history, which I could more satisfactorily
group around one female of a given period, than
many. We left that history in our last Lecture in
the year of the world 3540, just 460 years before
Christ. What a period I Why, it is only three
hundred and sixty-three years since Columbus, from
his vessel's deck, first saw this new world. Yet
this period intervening between the Old and the
New Testament, saw more than fifteen generations
of human beings appear on the earth and pass away,
like-shadows over the plain. The next succeeding
event in Jewish history, was the rebuilding of the
temple under Ezra and Nehemiah. During that
time Malachi, the last of the long line of prophets,
lived and wrote.
His prophecy completed the canon of the Old
Testament. He uttered the cry to Israel-" Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,"
which four hundred years afterward was echoed in
the wilderness of Judea, by the honored son of
Elizabeth.  Socrates was his cotemporary. Rome
was then advancing toward her republican greatness,
by the elevation of her common people. During a
century after the last prophet, the Jews, protected
by Persia, on whose throne Esther, one of their own
daughters, had sat, and of whose government NMordecai had been a prime minister, lived peacefully in
their own land.   Subsequently, Alexander the




THEE BELIEVING WIFE.         279
Great, conquered Persia, and added Judea to his
dominions. This is one of the most important eras
in the history of the world.
You understand that the original of the Old Testament is Hebrew, and that of the New Testament
Greek. You understand, that, in the times of our
Saviour, the Greek was the common language of the
Jews. Did you ever ask, why the Evangelists and
Apostles wrote in a language different from the
Prophets? This historical fact is accounted for by
the conquest of Alexander, whose policy it was to
amalgamate into his own great nation all the people hte conquered, by diffusing Grecian literature,
and influencing them to adopt the Greek language,
which became the fashionable language in high social and literary circles. After his death, when his
kingdom was divided among his generals, Judea became the arena of fierce strife, and was ruled over at
one time by the Syrian, and at another time by the
Egyptian kings. At last, the Syrian gained the
mastery, and Antiochus Epiphanes ascended the
throne. This man, combining the worst elements
of the Greek and Asiatic, possessed one of the
most abominable characters which any history has
recorded. This, too, was the darkest period the
Jews had yet known. Hie defiled their altars; dedicated their temples to Jupiter; and oppressed
them most bitterly. But the day of retribution
came. In a town, on the borders of the Mediter



280        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN,
ranean, lived a man named Mattathias, who had
five sons in the full vigor of early manhood. Through
this family a powerful national party arose, led on
by Judas Maccabees, the third son, who overthrew
the power of Antiochus, and revived the national
glory of Judah. It was a grand day when they entered in triumph the waste places of Jerusalem.They found tall shrubs, like the undergrowth of a
forest, in the very courts of the temple; but they
soon purified it, and celebrated " the feast of dedication" with great joy, which was ever afterward
kept sacred by the nation. The Maccabees ruled
one hundred years, and were called the Asmonean
princes. They were succeeded by the Herods of
Idumea, who were appointed by Julius Ca3sar, after having defeated Pompey at the battle of Pharsalia, and possessed himself of Judea, which Pompey had captured.
This brings down the history until forty years before Christ. There are two females who lived in
this period between Esther and Elizabeth, whom I
may not pass by, without, at least, a brief notice: one
was Anna the prophetess, a widow, who was born
eighty years before Christ, and " who departed not
from the temple" during a long series of years, but
served God " with fastings and prayers night and
day," awaiting the coming of the Messiah; and of
whom such honorable mention is made in the second chapter of Luke. The other is Mariamne-the




THE BELIEVING WIFE.         281
last of the line of Maccabees, the beautiful wife
of Herod. He loved her deeply, but in a fit of ungrounded jealousy murdered her, and ever afterward
endured the most agonizing remorse. He also slew
Hyrcannus, her grandfather, and three of his own
children: and when writhing in agony, caused by the
loathsome disease of which he died, he ordered the
chief men of Judea to be gathered together and
confined in a circus, and then summoning his family,
said, "'I know that the Jews vwill rejoice at my
death, but you have their leading men in custody,
and as soon as I am dead, before it is publicly
known, let the soldiers kill them." Josephus says
that, " with tears in his eyes he besought them, by
their love to him, not to fail to obey his command."
The next prominent woman in this historic line, is the
one who stood on the threshold of the Gospel dispensation-Elizabeth, the 1mother of John the Baptist.
1.-The fact, that she lived at the period to which
I have just alluded, invests her biography with interest. Persons who have lived in great historic
periods, become associated in our minds with the
events that then transpired. Especially is this true,
when they were practically connected with them.There had been important epochs in the world's history antecedently. There have been subsequently.
But never since the world began has there been a
period around which gathered such momentous interest, and from which has flowed such wide-spread




282        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
and far-reaching results, temporal and eternal, as
from that epoch at the opening of which Elizabeth
lived. Moral darkness covered the earth. The once
exalted Jewish nation was crushed by its proud foes,
and apparently abandoned by Jehovah. An unbrokei night of centuries had brooded over them.
The mass of the people were ignorant and corrupt;
and the most of the cultivated among them, divided
into sects, were either infidel or hypocritical. Only
a few remained true to their God, like the venerable
Simeon and Anna, who had long prayed and watched
for the coming of the promised Messiah, the dawning of that illustrious day " which, prophets and
kings desired to see, but died without the sight."A dreary waste of ages had passed away since the
death of the last prophet. The seventy prophetic
weeks of Daniel were about expiring. God's appointed- time approached. The pious few, amid
surrounding gloom, called out to spiritual watchers
on the heights of Zion-" Watchmen, what of the
night?"  And the joyous response came-" The
morning dawneth'" For from their spiritual elevation of faith and scriptural knowledge, they knew
that their redemption was drawing nigh. Now it
was in the early twilight, the dim dawn of this glorious day, amid whose meridian splendors we live,
that Elizabeth lived-and was associated most intimately with those events, which ushered in the
Gospel dispensation. Does not this fact excite interest in your mind in regard to her?




THE BELIEVING WIFE.           283
II.-The scripture record introduces us to her,
sustaining the character of a wife. We are informed
that she was a descendant of Aaron, the first Eigh
Priest of the Jews, the son-of Jochebed and brother
of Miriam.  Of her history as a maiden, or her courtship and marriage, we have no account. Both she
and her husband " were old and well stricken in
years" at the time we first read of them.  They
were living at Hebron, a Levitical city twenty miles
from  Jerusalem, in the hill country.  How long
they had been married we do not know; but that,
their wedded life had been a happy one, that their
home was a scene of domestic peace, there is no
doubt.  Of her personal appearance, no hint is given
us.  Of her intellectual character, we have enough
in the record to show us that she must have been a
cultivated, intelligent, thoughtful woman.  Of her
religious character, we have still more abundant evidence.  She appears before us not only as a noble
Jewish wife; not only as a high-minded, cultured
woman, but as possessing that crowning glory of human character, fervent, devoted piety.
And she was blest with what every religiouswoman
is not-a pious husband.  Zachariah was not only
the chosen husband of her maiden heart; he was not
only her companion in the journey of life; he was
not only the sharer of her social joys, her loving, devoted, truest friend; but he was more than all this.
He not only loved her, but he loved her God. He




284        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
not only administered to her necessities, fulfilled his
duties to her, but he was a servant of the God she
adored. She knew him to be not only a kind husband, an amiable man, but a truly religious one.She felt, therefore, that their hearts were united
not only in love for each other, but in love for the
same supreme object. She had the blissful assurance
that they not only lived together on earth, but would
dwell together eternally in heaven.:She had, therefore, not only a helper in her domestic labors, but
in her religious duties. She bowed not alone in
prayer.  She did not worship God alone; her dearest earthly friend worshipped with her.
Ah, how many pious women are differently situated!  Their husbands are kind, amiable men, of
unspotted business integrity, of high morals. They
are all they could wish them to be in their social
relations; but they are unreconciled to God; neglectful of their obligations to Him; living without
regard to His commands: and momently exposed to
the execution of the penalty of His law, which hangs
over them like a dense cloud, at home and abroad,
by night and by day, evermore.
Many a pious wife's heart is distressed on account
of what gave no concern to Elizabeth-the spiritual
condition of her husband, whom  she loves with an
affection strong as the combined energies of her
nature.  He may not know it. He may not see her
falling tears, or hear her anguished groans, uttered,




THE BELIEVING WIFE.         285
perchance, in the still hour of night, or while he is
about his daily business; but there is an eye that
sees those tears, an ear that hears those groans,
while the heart, most devoted of all on earth to him,
prays-" 0 God, let my husband live before thee;
make my best earthly friend a friend of my Redeemer; let us who are united in all other things,
not be divided in thy service; let not us who live
together now, be forever separated at the coming
judgment."
To thy prayer, pious, faithful wife, I respond,
"'Amen and amen." To thy prayer heaven listens.
With thee the church of God unites.  Remember
the apostolic question, "' How knowest thou, 0 wife,
but that thou mayest save thy husband?" Then pray
on, weep on, struggle on. Jesus sprinkles the mercy
seat with his atoning blood. He advocates thy cause.
He intercedes for thee.  And 0 may the hour not
be distant, when thou shalt hear thy husband cry,
" God be merciful to me a sinner-what shall I do
to be saved;" when he shall give his heart to the
Lord, erect a family altar, and bow with thee there,
sit at thy side around the communion table, and
journey with thee toward the " land which is very
far off."
Observe the eulogistic record concerning this
pious husband and wife.  " They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments
of the Lord, blameless."  Analyse for a moment




286         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN,
this sententious verse, developing their individual
and united character.  Perhaps no analysis could
be more thorough and beautiful than the one made
by the venerable and excellent Dr. Jay, of England.
In commenting upon this passage in his "Morning
Exercises," he observes, of the piety of this noble
pair:
1. It was sincere.  They were righteous before
God.
2. It was practical.  They walked in the ordinances and commandments of the Lord.
3. It was impartial.  They walked in all the ordinances, &c.
4. It was irreproachable.  They thus walkel
" blameless."
5. It was mutual.  They "'both," &c.
VWhat a beautiful domestic scene is here presented!  How peaceful the glory that bathes this
pious household! What place on earth so nearly
resembles heaven as a family like this, where, superadded to the love of its members for each other is
mutual love to the blessed God; where attention
is paid not only to physical and mental duties, but
also to the higher duties of religion; where there
is not only a family circle and table, but also a
family altar; where attention is paid not only to
books in general, but where the family Bible is
loved and honored as the word of the great Father;
where not only earthly music is heard, but heavenly




THE BELIEVING WIFE.          287
hymns are sung, whose sweet notes angels bend to
hear, and which float up to heaven like incense from
golden altars e where unions are formed not for this
world only, but which shall be -perpetuated in heaven forever-golden links, which even death's rude
hand can sever but for a moment, to be reunited.eternally in the home of the blest.
There are many husbands and wives who profess
to serve the same God that Zachariah and Elizabetl
did.  Allow me to ask, can that be said of yot,
which is recorded of them?  Are you "walking in
all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord,
blameless?"  Have you religion in your families?
Remember, that in your relations as husband and
wife, you influence not only each others general but
religious character.  It is a difficult matter for a
wife to serve God, if her husband, making the same
profession with herself, does not join her in that
service.  It is equally difficult for a husband to
grow in grace or maintain family religion, unless his
wife cooperates with him. You know how impossible it is for a man to accumulate property unless
his wife, by habits of industry and economy, aids
him.  It is an old Irish adage, " that a man must
ask his wife's leave to be rich."  You know how essential their mutual cooperation is in order to the
promotion of every family good. And the same
thing holds true in regard to religion.  Christian
woman, wouldst thou have thy husband walk in all




288    i REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
the ordinances of the Lord?  0 walk in them.thyself.  Christian man, wouldst thou have thy wife a
devoted servant of thy God?  0 serve' him thyself.  Christian woman, be thou an Elizabeth, and
thy husband will be far more likely to be a Zachariah.  Christian man, be thou a Zachariah, and thy
wife will be far more likely to be an Elizabeth.
III. The remaining record of her life presents
her in other interesting domestic relations.
With this portion of her biography several beautiful historic scenes are connected.  The first is —
A Scene in the Temple.
In neither of the preceding lectures have we been
introduced into the temple.  We have beheld it
from without. Now we pass its splendid threshold,
its grand outer courts, and enter an inner one,
called " The holy place," where stands the table of
shew-bread and the altar of incense.  It is the time
of the evening sacrifice.  The multitude are crowding the outer court. Elizabeth's husband, arrayed
in his sacerdotal robes, stands alone before the altar
of incense in the holy place, near to the veil which
separates from " the most holy place." Reverently
he attends to his official duties, while his pious soul
goes out in prayer to the God of Israel.  No noise
breaks the solemn silence save the hum of the praying multitude, which sounds like the murmur of a
distant sea.  Now, bear in mind, that when the




THE BELIEVING WIFE.           289
prophetic ministry was withdrawn, that of angels
ceased. - We hear of no angelic appearance during
four hundred years.  Bear in mind, that only one
thing has marred the joy of Zachariah and Elizabeth.  They have no child.  But while performing
his sacerdotal duty he beholds, through the wreathing incense, a brilliancy whereat the gleam of the
altar-fire seems to pale.  He looks steadily at it,
and lo, it is an angel form, whose countenance beams
with celestial beauty. His apparel is white as the
driven snow. Zachariah, overwhelmed by this sudden, mysterious, heavenly visitor, trembles with momaentary alarm.  But the angel acts worthy of a
messenger from the spirit world: He does not rap
on the table of shew-bread, or move the altar of incense, or make unintelligible sounds, but distinctly
addresses him, so as to leave no doubt as to what he
desires to comm.unicate.  And these are the blissful words, that, in tones of unearthly sweetness,
fell on his ear-" Fear not, Zachariah: for thy
prayer is heard: and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear
thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And
thou shalt have joy and gladness; -and many shall
rejoice at his birth.  For he shall be great in the
sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor
strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost even from his mother's womb. And many of
the children of Israel shall h:e turn to the Lord
their God.   And he shall go before him, in the
13




290       BREPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
At this wonderful announcement Zaehariah is
reassured, but doubtingly asks-" Whereby shall I
know this, for I am an old man and my wife well
stricken in years?''  In a tone of reproach the
angel replies-" I am Gabriel that stand in the
presence of God, and am sent to show thee these
glad tidings. And behold thou shalt be dumb, and
not able to speak until these things are fulfilled,
because thou believest not my words-which shall be
fulfilled in their season."
His mission accomplished, Gabriel disappears.
The altar-flame dies out.  The waiting multitude
without have wondered at the Priest remaining so
long in the temple, but now they see him coming
forth out of the holy place. They wait to receive
his benediction.  As he approaches they perceive,
from his appearance, that something wonderful has
occurred, for, without uttering the customary blessing, he solemnly waves his hand, and then all retire inquiringly to their homes, and he returns into
the temple to fulfill the days of his ministration,
The second is —
-A Home Scene.
Elizabeth has waited anxiously the expiration of
her husband's ministry, during his allotted week at




THE BELIEVING WIFE.          291
the temple. The hour has come for his return.
Seating herself by a window, opening Jerusalemward, she watches and waits for his coming. At
length her heart beats quickly with joy; her eyes
beam forth glad glances, for in the distance the loved
form is seen approaching. Arising, she goes forth
like a loving wife to meet and bid her husband welcome home. But as she draws near him, she sees
a new expression on his noble face.  It is radiant
with mingled wonder, hope and bliss; he looks tenderly upon her, and his lips move, but she hears no
voice. Taking her outstretched hand, mutely they
enter the dwelling, where, by means of writing, he
communicates to his alarmed and wondering wife,
the message of the angel. She has read it, and oh i
I see them throw their arms around each others
necks, and silently weep tears of gladness, and offer
up unspoken thanks to Him who hath heard their
prayer, pitied their loneliness, and promised them
so distinguished an honor.
The third is a different scene in the same home.
Half a year has passed away. A visitor hath come
to the house of Elizabeth; it is a female, a relative, a cousin; it is Mary, the future mother of the
Messiah of God, the Saviour of men. Alone these
two honored women sit and commune together.
VWith rapture Mary tells of Gabriel's visit to her,
and the announcement that she should have a son,
who should be the long-promised and long-expected




292        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
redeemer of Israel. At this glorious intelligence
Elizabeth exclaims, as she folds her cousin in her
arms-" Blessed art thou among women, and blessed
is the fruit of thy womb." Then with true humility she adds-" Whence is this to me, that the
mother of my Lord should come to me. For lo!
as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my
ears, the babe lept in my womb for joy;" and in the
exercise of unwavering faith she concludes by saying-" Blessed is she that believeth, for there shall
be a performance of those things which were told
her from the Lord.
The fourth is a still different scene in the same
home.  There is joy unknown before in the home
of Zachariah and Elizabeth.  There is a light in
their dwelling which never shone there before. A
sweet voice is heard that was never heard there before. A bud of beauteous and rich promise has appeared in that garden home.. Another is added to
that small circle. Zachariah and Elizabeth are no
longer childless.  Parents only can understandwho remember the strange new joy that gushes up
within them, when they press to their bosoms their
first born child-the unutterable rapture of this
noble pair, to whom, as Hie did to Abraham and
Sarah, God fulfilled their fondest hopes, after those
hopes themselves had expired, by giving them a son
in their old age.
Their kindred rejoiced with them, and at his




THE BELIEVING WIFE.                 293
circumcision they named the child Zachariah, after
his father, but Elizabeth said, " His name shall be
called John."   They wonderingly referred the matter to Zachariah, who wrote, " His name is John."
Now that joyful father's tongue is unloosed.  The
spirit of prophecy comes upon him, and while his
face glows with the illumination of a seer, he exclaims"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel!
For he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets,
Which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved by our enemies,
And from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
And to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he swore to our fathers,
And to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he swore to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us,
That we, being delivered, out of the hand of our enemies, might
serve him without fear,
In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our
life."
And then looking with inexpressible tenderness
upon the babe he folded to his bosom, he adds"And thou, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his
ways,
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people,




294          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
By the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of
our God:
Whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us,
To give light to them that sit in darkness and the shadow of
death,
To guide our feet in the way of peace."
WVe read no more of either of these parents.  We
have no further record of Elizabeth.  But with the
recorded facts fresh in your memory, I submit the
following remarks for your consideration.
l-Parents, and especially mothers, live in the
lives of their children.
They give them not only the peculiarities of their
physical but of their intellectual and moral characters. The old adage holds good as a general truth,
c Like mother, like child."   And although nothing
further is recorded of Elizabeth, yet in the history
of her son, we know what her subsequent life must
have been, for in her son's character she lived, as
color lives in a flower or light in a star.
Of her son it is said-" The child grew and waxed strong in spirit." But remember, he grew under
the fostering care of his mother; his spirit strengthened under her energizing influence. She doubtless
obeyed the command of the angel concerning him,
that he should be brought up a Nazarite, eating no
animal food, drinking no wine or strong drink.  His
father, being a priest, was able to instruct him in
all the lore of the Rabbins; while his mother could
familiarize his mind with all the facts and doctrines




THE BELIEVING WIFE.          295
of Scripture.  They dwelt in seclusion at Hebron,
in the hill country of Judea. There, beneath these
sacred home influences, and amid the grand scenery
of nature-mountains, beetling crags, frightful precipices, dark caverns, and desert wastes, John was
educated'for his great work, as the herald of the
new dispensation.  And when he came forth on his
great mission, behold how the leading characteristics
of his mother developed themselves in him. He
stands on the banks of the foowing Jordan, in whose
]ucid tide he has baptized hundreds of candidates,
on a profession of their repentance for sin, and faith
in the coming of the Miessiah. A new candidate
approaches and asks baptism. John recognizes in
that new candidate his Lord and master: and with
profound humility says-" I have need to be baptized of thee, and wherefore comest thou to me P"
Of what do these words remind you?  Have you
forgotten what Elizabeth said to Mary before the
birth of either of their sons, when she used almost
this indentical language In her humble exclamation,
" Whence is this to me, thathe nzother of?my Lord
sh$ould come to mne?"  See you not the mothers'
humility living in her son?
Another trait in Elizabeth's character was the
devoteduess of herpiety.  It burned like a quen-chless altar flame.  She did not, like:Sarah, doubt the
promise of God. And was it not said of her son
tha.t-" he was a bright and a shining light'"  She




296         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN
also developed great fortitude and moral courage.
And did not her son develop all the high elements
of moral heroism?  Remember his withering rebukes of the hypocritical leaders of Judaism.  Remember his scathing denunciation of Herod's licentiousness, which cost him his life. Learn hence,
oh, mothers, your duty and your privilege.  You
may impress your own characters upon your children. For all the great purposes of usefulness, you
may live in their lives long after your bodies shall
have been wrapt in their shrouds and decomposing
in their sepulchre.
In Japan they have this significant custom. At
a wedding, the dearest friends of the bride present
her with a veil, which covers her entire person. She
wears it on that occasion, and then carefully laying
it aside, it is never again brought forth until her
death.  Then it is produced, and wrapped around
her pallid form as her shroud.  Sooner or later, mothers, all of you will die. No bridal veils will envelope your lifeless bodies, as they sleep in the dark
mansions of the dead. But 0, if, like Elizabeth,
you are faithful to your offspring, their grateful
love will wreathe its undecaying folds around your
remains; cherish evergreen your memories, and
reproduce in their lives your characters.
When Napoleon Bonaparte was asked what France
needed most, his reply was —' Mothers."




THE BELIEVING WIFE.             297
"0O say to mothers, what a holy charge
Is theirs! With what a queenly power their love
Can rule the fountain of the newborn mind
Warn them to wake at early dawn and sow
Good seed before the world hath sown her tares;
Nor in their toil decline, that angel bands
May put their sickles in and reap for God
And gather in His garner."
2-I beg you to consider the momentous question
that was asked soon after the -birth of Elizabeth's
son, concerning him. It was this-" What manner
of child shall this be?"  How this question must
have thrilled the hearts of his parents! True, of
his general character and mission, Gabriel had informed them. But this information was merely a
general outline, whose filling up they could not see:
there was much that he did not tell them. They
knew not the sufferings that awaited him.  They
knew not the murder the malicious mother of Herodias would plot; and the weak and wicked Herod,
fascinated by a dancing-girl, would perpetrate.Elizabeth knew not that the tender body of the
child, which she cradled in her arms, was to lie in
the dark loathsomeness of a criminal's dungeon;
that the beautiful head that pressed her bosom would
be severed from its body by the executioner's bloody
axe; and all ghastly, covered with its own gore, be
carried by a dancing woman to her corrupt mother.
Had she known these fearful futurities, perchance
it had made her miserable, and unnerved her for her




298        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
duty. Sometimes it is " the glory of God to conceal a thing."  Thus he has concealed from us the
future of our children. But who of us who are parents, can help exclaiming, as we look on our little
ones, " What manner of child shall this be?"  Wo
gaze at yon drunkard, wallowing in the gutter; at
yon libertine, who, preying upon innocence, is the
greatest villain that walks God's earth, undamped;
at yon gambler, whose heart is petrified by the
meanest vice; we go into our jails and state-prisons,
and behold them crowded with abandoned men;
and remember, that all these were once pure, innocent babes, just like those we so tenderly fondle,
and then the question pierces our hearts like a dagger-" What manner of child shall this be?"  O,
it is not the greatest calamity to see our children
die. I once heard an agonized mother exclaim, in
yonder jail, as she took her last farewell of her son,
about to be led to the scaffold to be hung for the
murder of his wife,  0  my son, my son! would
God you had died when you were a babe!"  In a
city on the Hudson River, lived a mother who had
seven children —one girl and six boys. The only
daughter sickened and died. The mother was totally unreconciled, and during several months she
would go every day to her daughter's grave, and
weep there. In her grief for the lost one, she failed
to do her duty to those who remained. They lived,
grew up to manhood, but so wicked were they, that,




THE BELIEVING WIFE.            299
in her old age, she said to a friend —" If my six
boys had died in their early childhood, I should now
be the happiest oftmothers, for I should expect soon
to meet them in bliss; but now I have no hope for
them."
In this ignorance of the future of our children,
whant shall we do?  Just what Zachariah and Elizabeth did: bring them up " in the nurture and admonition of the Lord"-giving them. in our lives
correct examples, and in our teachings correct instruction; commit them to Him who hath promised
"- Train up a child in the way he should go, and
when he is old he will not depart from it."
And oh! if our sons, like the son of Elizabeth and
Zachariah, shall grow up pure-hearted, seriousminded, humanity-loving, and God-fearing-what
though, like him, they may be poor in perishable
wealth; what though, like him, they may be persecuted for adherence to the truth; or even called to
seal their testimony with their blood, as he did?A grateful world shall bless their memory; God's
sacred benizon shall be theirs.
"For they never fail who die
In a just cause, The block may soak
Their gore; their heads may sodden
In the sun; their limbs be strung
To city-gates and castle-wallsBut still their spirit walks abroad,"
And never rest till the great cause triumphs. —




300       REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN,
Christian mother, as God called Elizabeth's son to
a great public work, so that little boy at thy side
may yet be called-to be the Judson, the Carey, or
the Haswell, the Martyn, or Morrison of the future
-proclaiming the Gospel to remote realms, where
now the name of Jesus is unknown. That little
girl by thy side may be, in the purpose of God, the
future Harriet Newel or Ann H. Judson, of the missionary enterprise. Teacher, that ragged boy in
the street, whom- you have interested to come to
Sabbath School, may yet be the Wilberforce or
Howard of some great reform, which shall yet shake
the world. To his voice, pealing like a trumpetas did John the Baptist's-a nation may listen.
" O what manner of child shall this be?"  Remember, he will be, under God, just like the influence you bring to bear upon him; just like the
instruction you give him; the training to which
you subject him. An angel might groan under
such responsibility!




NM A RIt 
iTe      Mot   tr  of. O       t5 Ug
Luke 1: 28, " The angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou
that art highly favored, the Lord is witlh thee; blessed art thou among
women."
Some years ago, a book was published addressed
"' to those who think." The selection of such a title
was certainly a mark of shrewdness in the author.
For you perceive, that by means of it, he placed every
person who saw the book in this dilemma-inasmuch
as all desire to be regarded as thinkers-either to
<;-eive the book as addressed particularly to himself, or by rejecting it, tacitly admit that he was not
a thinker.
Allow me to present a few thoughts " to those
who think."   The object of the considerations I
shall present, is to prepare the way for what I have
to say upon the life and character of Mary.
It is known to some at least, that there are those
whose views of Mary and her Son our Lord, are of




302         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
such a nature, that if I were even to mention them
an indignant blush would mantle every virtuous
cheek. Such'especially I entreat to weigh the following considerations.  Suppose God and man sustain the relation of Lawgiver and law-violator.
Still God loves man as his creature, and would save
him from the pollution of sin. and its legal penalty,
but such is the nature of the divine government,
that the sinner cannot be saved unless some method
can be adopted which shall satisfy the law, so that God
can be just and yet justify any. Suppose that the
only possible method for accomplishing this double
object, is an atonement.  But, the provision of an
atonement adequate to the dignity of violated law,
and the exigencies of the offender, requires the
sacrifice of one-whose -nature  shall represent
equally the dignity of the Lawgiver and the humanity of the transgressor. In him Deity and humanity must be united-Deity, that he may give
value to the offering-humanity, that he may obey
the positive precepts, and endure the -penal sanctions of the law human nature has:violated. But
can you conceive of such a personage, unless you
suppose the advent of one, whose nature, while it is
essentially human, is also free from the taint of depravity?  For if it inherits the pollttion of sin,
then he would be a sinner-and so far from being'
adequate to the redemption of a race of sinners, he
would need a savior himself. And how could the




THE, MOTHER OF JESUS.       303
result have been different from this, had the Messiah entered into the world by the ordinary process
of human generation?
In -the second person of the adorable Trinity we
discover a being whose divine nature is fully adequate, but how shall he posess the requsite humanity?  I ask you, how could even God provide
for his Son a sinless humanity?  You answer,
He might have created a body for him as he did for
Adam. But see you not that then he would not
have been bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh?
He would have been a new creation with other blood
than ours flowing through his veins. The only
other conceivable method by which He could become
immaculately incarnate was the one the Bible declares was adopted.  But the doubter says this
method involved the miraculous conception of our
Saviour. Obviously it does. But see you not that
if the other method you suggest had been pursued,
and God had created a new body, as Adam's was,
that the miracle would have been far greater?
Then I submit to you, that upon the theory that
the above suppositions are truths, that the miraculous conception of our Lord's humanity was a logical necessity. Now the Bible, on the authority of
God, affirms that such are the facts, that these suppositions are truths, and that the necessity they created
was met in the way the New Testament records,
than which our reason can conceive of no other. As




304         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
I said before, I address these thoughts "to those
who think."
I propose to review the recorded events of iJiary's
bife, and then consider her relations to prophecy and
to the Gospel.
She is presented to us as residing at Nazareth,
her native home.  This was a small town in
Gallilee, west of Capernaum. It was built partly in a valley, and partly on the declivity of a
hill. The valley spread out before it, resembles a
circular basin, encompassed by mountains.  Around
that fertile vale, fifteen different mountains meet,
and form its enclosure. In the north stands the
majestic Hermon; southward the castellated heights
of Tabor; directly south, peers upward bleak and
dewless Gilboa: adjoining which, arise the blue hills
of Samaria, and venerable Carmel, standing like a
sentinel by the sea. Begirt with mountains like
these, Mary's home looked down upon the great
battle-plain of Esdraelon, rich in stirring associations
of ancient story. In Nazareth, a village whose very
name had become proverbial, lived old Heli, through
whose veins flowed the blood of David, and his gentle virgin daughter.
There is no allusion whatever to her physical appearance, but the Christian imagination has invested her with every attribute of the highest female
beauty. It seems to me, however, that it will be
more appropriate to think of her, as an artless,




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.          305
Jewish maiden, developing those peculiar features
which mark her race. Many Romish pictures, overlooking the fact that she was a Jewess, represent
her with auburn hair, azure eyes, and a blond comuplexion. Rome has ever hated the poor Jew, and
no where is he more despised than in the " Eternal
City." The hatred of her race, easily supplies a
motive for divesting the woman they adore of the
peculiarities of her people. The type of Jewish
beauty, however, is like no other. It combines
these points: black hair, a broad forehead, lustrous
dark eyes, fringed by long lashes, finely arched eyebrows, an aquiline nose, full red lips, a rich deep
complexion, which even the warm pencil of southern
artists has never fully represented. In your imagination, picture all these, connected with a delicate
yet symmetrically rotund figure, and you have the
true ideal of the person of Mary.
Her early piety is undoubted. She was in keen
sympathy with the pious of her nation, in the expectation of a speedily coming Messiah. In common with Jewish females, perchance she had often
wondered who should be the honored woman of
Israel whom God would choose.
But when we become acquainted with her, she is
no longer a free-hearted maiden; she has given her
affections, and has promised her hand in marriage
to a young carpenter namred Joseph.  The betrothal
ceremony among her people was on this wise. The




306         REPRESENTATIVE WOMIEN
accepted lover, in the presence of her family, took
the maiden's hand, and placing within it a, small
golden coin, said-" Accept this as a pledge that
thou shalt become my wife."  That ceremony has
passed between Joseph and Mary. Joyfully she
waits the coming hour when she shall be led to the
bridal altar.  All sunlight are the sweet visions of
domestic bliss that dance before her imagination
How little she dreams of the high honor the purpose o0 God had decreed for her! But the moment
bath come for its fulfillment.  Gabriel, who thousands of years before, descending from his celestial
home, had developed the outline of the redemptive
plan to the dwellers of Mesopotamia, and who revealed to Daniel, on the banks of the Ulai, that four
hundred and ninety years should elapse before the
Messiah would come, now appeared to her, and in
accents soft as angels use, said to the trembling
maiden, " Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor
with God, and behold thou shalt conceive and bring
forth a son, and shalt:call his name Jesus.  He
shall be great, and shall be called the son of the
Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of his father David.  And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom. there shall be no end."
Overwhelmed with astonishment she wonderingly
replies, " How  shall this be, for I am yet a virgin?"  With a grand majesty Gabriel responds,




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.          307'"iThe Holy Ghost shall come upon thee; and the
power of the highest shall overshadow thee; therefore that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God."  And then, to confirm
her confidence he utters this eternal truth, "With
God nothing is impossible."  In a moment passage
after passage of ancient promise, dazzling as the
lightning, flashes upon her memory, relating to the
birth of the Messiah; and in the tumult of her excitement, submission to the divine will predominates, and she exclaims, "Behold the handmaid of
the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word."
Gabriel's mission is accomplished. Unfurling his
glittering pinions he soars homeward.  Oh, what
emotions awoke in her young soul; how inconceivably sublime the destiny before her; Mother of the
Messiah, prophet, priest and king, whose dominion
shall be universal and everlasting!    ell may her
brain reel, her eye flash, her pulses throb, her heart
quiver.
This was the Annunczation.
The next event is her visit to Elizabeth. We
had occasion. to notice this in our last lecture; but
I propose now to point out to you the historic places
she passed on her way to her cousin, during her five
days' journey. Descending the hill, her course was
southward, and issued from the valley through a
chasm between the mountains, beneath whose shadows, in olden times, Barak pitched his tents, and




308        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Deborah  prophecied.  At this point the river
Kishon came in view, into whose waters the armies
of Israel drove their routed foes. Crossing a speer
of the mountain, on the left, desolate Gilboa,
where the God-abandoned Saul committed suicide,
presented its northern side. Passing over the valley of Jezreel, she beheld, on the left, in the distance, the lofty heights of Bashan, and going onward to Samaria, through Sychar, neat Jacob's well,
approached the ancient sepulchres, where lie slumbering the dust of the patriarch Joseph. Conceive,
if you can, Mary's emotions as she gazed upon those
hoary resting places of the venerated dead! Continuing her journey, she went by Bethel, where, in
olden time, Jacob slept and dreamed; and after a
day's travel she reached Jerusalem, seated upon its
throne of hills, crowned with its gorgeous temple,
whose golden ornaments flashed in the sunlight like
a diadem of fire; advancing southward six miles,
she came to Bethlehem,-in whose barley-fields Ruth
gleaned, and hastening on arrived at Hebron, the
home of Elizabeth.
Now, let us stop and ask, wherefore she made this
long and tedious journey.? Was it to confirm her
own faith in the divinity of the annunciation? Was
it to secure Elizabeth's influence in satisfying her
betrothed Joseph? Was it merely to communi-'
cate the joyful intelligence to her cousin? Or, in
her youth and inexperience, did she come for sym



THE MOTHER OF JESUS.              309
pathy and advice from her aged relative? One fact
will aid us to an answer. In the annunciation Gabriel
had informed her that Elizabeth was also about to
become a mother, as confirmatory of the divinity of
his message to her; and now she hath come to test
the confirmation.
After the welcome salutation, the venerable
woman, filled with the Holy Spirit, before Mary
had told her a word, exclaims, " Blessed art thou
among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
and blessed is she that believeth, for there shall be
a performance of those things, told her from the
Lord."  At this announcement Mary's last fear departs, her brightest hopes are confirmed, her timidity gives place to the loftiest courage, her grateful
spirit bursts forth in a song of thanksgiving, to
justly appreciate which, I beg you to conceive of
ner in all the richness of her pure beauty, with
flashing eyes, glowing cheeks, quivering lips, uttering these grand words, in a voice low and tremulous
with deepest emotion, while her venerable cousin
listens with rapture. With this picture before your
mind, hear her splendid utterance —
"My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior!
For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth all nations shall call me blessed I
For He that is mighty hath done to me great things;
And holy is His name;




310          REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
And his mercy is on them that fear him,
From generation to generation.,
He hath showed strength with his arm:
He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
And exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things,
Anal the rich hath he sent empty away.
He hath helped his servant Israel,
In remembrance of his mercy, as he spake to our fathers,
To Abraham and his seed forever!"
I beg you to consider this impromptu anthem, as
an indication of the intellectuality as well as spirituality of 1Mary.  As a composition, it compares
favorably with the noblest ancient or modern poetry.
In its grand tones, it equals the songs of Miriam,
Deborah, and Hannah.
Next came _Mary's first trial.  She was betrothed, not married to Joseph.  Bear in mind that the
penalty for infidelity to a betrothed one, was death
by stoning, according to Jewish law.  Observe the
perplexity of her case.  Timid maiden that she was,
how couldt she explain all to Joseph, or even expect
him to credit her should she do so.  Conscious of
her own purity, she calmly committed her hopes
and fears to God.  But the hour of her bitter trial
came. Joseph suspected her. His brow became
clouded.  His manners cold and distant.  You can
but ask, why did she not inform him of all that had
occurred?  I answer, that she had received no direction from the angel to attempt any vindication




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.            311
of herself.  She left her character, as innocence
never fears to do, with the God of the innocent.
Joseph, loving her dearly, and not willing to expose
her to danger, resolved to give her a private divorce,
although it wrung his heart with agony, and blasted
his dearest life hopes.  But at this fearful crisis.
while buried in the slumbers of night, Gabriel, poising on his white wings, bent over the sleepless
couch, and whispered in his ear-" Joseph, thou
son of David, fear not to take unto thee MIary thy
wife; for that which is conceived in her, is of the
Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save
his people from their sins."
The sleeper awakes. And lo, after the gloomy
night of torturing sorrow, the bright morning of joy
hath dawned. -Joseph remembers the words of the
angel-and while he thinks of them, suddenly the
thought flashes over his mind, why, this is in accordance wit]h prophecy-for Isaiah wrote six hundred years ago, " Behold a virgin shall conceive,
and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Immanuel-God with us."  Now, perceiving the
fulfillment, he hastens to his betrothed, in a delirium of joy, and looking upon her clear, open brow,
and mild truth-telling eyes, never did she appear so
transcendantly lovely; and just man that he was,
he lead her to his home, as his own beauteous and




312        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
unsullied bride, and thus ended Mary'sfirst, great
trial.
Before the occurrence of the next great event,
months passed away. The Emperor issued an edict,
that all his subjects should be taxed. Neander says,'' The Emperor Augustus had ordered a general
census of the Roman Empire, partly to obtain correct statistics of its resources, and partly for purm
poses of taxation. As Judea was then a dependency of the Empire, Augustus probably intended to reduce it to a province; and in order to
secure similar statistics of that country, ordered Herod to take the census.  In performing
his duty, Herod followed the Jewish usage-a
division of tribes."  KIling Herod publishes the
edict to the Jews, and orders each individual
to  repair to the  native city of his family.Joseph and Mary belonging to the family of David,
must go to Bethlehem, David's birth-place and possession as part of the ancient allotment of his family.
Thither they go, and find the city crowded, insomuch that there is " no room for them in the inn,"
and they are compelled to take shelter for the night
in a rocky cavern used as a stable.
The hum of the city is hushed. All unconscious
is the sleeping world of the mighty event which
shall transpire ere the morning dawns. But the
predestined hour is come; Mary folds in maternal
arms the infant Messiah; and while strange and




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.               313
unutterable emotions fill her soul, tenderly she wraps
him in swaddling clothes, and lays him in the manger. Oh, I have been familiar with this sacred
story from  earliest childhood.  A  sainted mother
sang it over my cradle. But the heart of my manhood lingers around it to-day with unutterable interest, as I see the Son of God, occupant of heaven's
most brilliant throne, now incarnate, lying in a manger as a helpless babe; as I see the uncreated divinity veiled in the garb of my humanity; as I remember the inconceivable magnitude of His mission
to earth, and the infinite depths of that condescension which led him to appear among earth's poorest,
lowliest ones, and reflect, that, surrounded by none
of the ordinary comforts of life,"Cold on His cradle the dew-drops were shiningLow laid His head with the beasts of the stall."
Alas, the race knows not that its Redeemer hath
come. Oppressed, crushed, weeping humanity knows
not that its Deliverer hath appeared; that the
morning of its long and sorrowfiul night hath dawned.
"Thou wast born of woman; thou didst come,
0 holiest! to this world of sin and gloom,
Not in thy dread omnipotent array;
And not by thunder strew'd
Was thy tempestuous roadNor indignation burned before thee on thy way;
But thee a soft'and naked child,
Thy mother undefiled,
In the rude manger laid to rest
From off her virgin breast.
14




31,4        BREPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
The heavens were not commanded to prepare
A gorgeous canopy of golden air,
Nor stoop'd their'lamps th' enthroned fires on high;
A single, silent star
Came wandering from afar,
Gliding, unchecked and calm, along the liquid sky:
The eastern sages leading on,
As at a kingly throne
To lay their gold and odors sweet
Before thy infant feet."
It had been written of old, that, "when the
First Begotten is brought into the world, all th'e
angels of God shall worship Him."  Mlark its fulfillment!  Out on the plain shepherds are watching
their flocks: on their wondering ears Gabriel utters
the startling announcement-" Behold, I bring you
glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born, this day, in the city of
David, a Saviour —Christ the Lord. And this shall
be the sign to you: ye shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger."  But ere
they can arise to depart, the heavens glow with the
brightness of an angelic choir, who with voices trained
in the melodies of eternity, sing the advent anthem,
" Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and good
will to men." The music dies away. Leaning toward
the point where the choir disappeared, the shepherds
wait to catch the last note, and then, leaving their
flocks, hasten to the stable, and kneel in devout
adoration around the sleeping babe 
Forty days passed away. The rites of circumci



THE MOTHER OF JESSo.         315
sion and purification were accomplished; and with
her husband and precious child, Mary appeared in
the temple to present him unto his Father God,Not able to bring a lamb for sacrifice, they brought
a pair of doves, the offering of the poor. The ceremony was finished, and two venerable persons approached them. The one was an aged man, whose
locks were white as the driven snow, who took the
infant Saviour in his emaciated arms, and exclaimed,
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen
thy salvation." And then, glancing along the line
of the divinely illuminated future, he.said to Mary,
"- This child is set for the fall and rising again of
many in Israel, and for.a sign which shall be spoken
against, yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own
soul, that. the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."  The other was an old woman, who, with
bending form and tottering step, pressed the babe
to her withered bosom; and then " spake of Him
to all those who looked for redemption in Israel.:"
From their distant observatories, eastern philosophers had marked the appearance. ofa strange star,
in the western sky.:. Among the ancients, the appearance of a star or comet was regarded as an omen
of some remarkable event.  Bear in mind that all
eastern nations, through whom the Jews were scattered, had the expectation that a remarkable person
was soon to appear. Suetonius, a Roman historian,




316        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
speaking of this, says: " An ancient and settled
persuasion prevailed throughout the east, that the
fates had decreed some one to proceed from Judea,
who should attain universal empire." Tacitus, Josephus, and Philo-the first a Roman, the two latter Jewish historians-record the same fact. It
was natural, therefore, for the wise men to associate
that expectation with the new star. They hastened
to Jerusalem, appeared before Herod, and inquired
of him, " Where is He that is born King of the
Jews 3"  Herod's jealousy was aroused. He ascertained from the Rabbins that the Messiah was to be
born in Bethlehem, and sent the magi thither,
charging them to bring him word when they had
found Him. Guided by the star, which finally stood
still over Mary's home, they entered it, and bending
in homage before the infant King, presented unto
Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But that persecution which is to follow Jesus
from the manger to the cross, has commenced.Herod, maddened by the failure of the wise men to
return, issues the terrible decree, that all the children in Bethlehem, under two years of age, shall be
murdered, simply in order to secure the destruction
of Jesus. But warned from heaven, Joseph and
Mary are far beyond his reach, in the land of the
pyramids, where they remained until Herod died.
Twelve years more passed away. Mary, Joseph,
and Jesus attended the feasts at Jerusalem. Jesus




THE MOTHER OF JESUS,.               317
went into the temple, and discussed great questions
with the Rabbins. His parents returned homeward,
supposing Him to be in the company.  Discovering
their mistake, they returned to the city, and having
found  Him, Mary said, " Knowest thou not that
we have sought thee sorrowing?" With a respectful
gentleness, He replied, " Knowest thou not that I
must be about my Father's business?"   Observe
here, Jesus never recognized Joseph as His father,
although He was subject unto him, by virtue of his
relation to His mother.
During eighteen years we have no record of the
history of Mary and her Son.  They lived in quiet
seclusion, while his youth bloomed into manhood.
How commingled must have been her maternal and
reverential emotions as she gazed upon her wondrous child!
Day
Followed on (lay, like any childhood's passing:
And silently sat Mary at her wheel,
And watched the boy-Messiah as she spun:
And as a human child unto its mother
Subject the while, He did her low voice biddingOr gently came to lean upon her knee,
And ask her of the thoughts that in Him stirred
Dimly as yet —or with affection sweet,
Tell, murm'ring of His weariness-and then,
All tearful-hearted, (as a human mother
Unutterably fond, while touched with awe,)
She paused, or with tremulous hand spun onThe blessings that her lips instructive gave
Asked of Him with an instant thought again."




318        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
The first event after his "showing unto Israel"
transpired in Gallilee.  He has entered upon his
public work. There was a wedding in Cana. The
adorable One graced the marriage feast with his
presence.   His mother also was there.  She
would have him manifest his power by working a
miracle. Gently chiding her haste, in the most tender tone and manner, he said,- " Woman, what have
I:to do with thee-mine hour has not yet come."
The next record of her is a public incident.
Jesus was preaching to a Crowd. His mother ancd
brethren were on its outskirt. She feared that harm
would come to-him, and the crowd being so great that
she could not get near him, sent this message, " Thy
mother and brethren are without desiring to speak
with thee."  But, wrapt up in the sublimity of his
mission, He exclaimed, "Who is my mother? And
who are my brethren?  For whosoever shall do
the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same
is my brother, and sister, and mother."
We have now reached the last great incident of her
life. Calvary, crowned with its ignominious crosses,
looms up before us. On its central cross hangs the
atoning Saviour.  Out of five gaping wounds his
life-blood is gushing.  Upon his pale brow gather
the dew-drops of death.  Look! what woman
kneels in writhing agony at his feet, and gazes with
such unutterable, tearless grief into his expiring
face?  Ah, it is she, who folded his infant form to




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.            319
her glad bosom in Bethlehem's stable.  It is she,
who, with holy pride, presented him to God in the
temple when she heard those prophetic words of
Simeon, "A sword shall pierce through thine own
soul" —words which have rung like a funereal knell
in her ears for thirty-three years,.and now, alas, she
feels that sword sundering her heart.  It is she
who watched over his budding boyhood and blooming manhood.  It is she who bears to him a relation which none other in the universe can. It is his
mother.  As she gazes upon those familiar and beloved features, she asks herself, will he not speak to
me once more?  Behold his dying eye fastens with
unearthly tenderness upon her.  His lips move, he
speaks, " Woman, behold thy son 1" and looking
toward the beloved John, who supports her, he says,; Behold thy mother!" "; and from  that hour that
disciple took her to his own home."  Eusebius, the
historian, says she lived fifteen years after the crucifixion, and then died in the triumphs of faith.
These are all the recorded incidents in the life of
iMary, the mother of Jesus.  From  our heart we
exclaim with the poetI.
St. Mary, mother, ever blessed!
Beneath the cross we part,
At the dread moment when the sword
Pierceth thy very heart.




320           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
We part from thee amid the storm
Of Jews and heathens' rage,
But once to see thy name again
Upon the Sacred page.
II.
Of the bright cloud of witnesses
Fromu Holy Writ that gleam,
One face of meekness, love and faith
Dearer than all doth seem.
Oh!  who can marvel thou shouldst be
In ignorance adored!
Thou chosen one of all the earth t
Thou mother of our Lord!
II.
St. Mary, mother, how we yearn
More of thy life to knowr!
A life of so much blessedness,
A life of so much woe!
But God in wisdom hath not willed
Such knowledge e'er should be;
Beyond the darkened blood-stained cross
We may not follow thee.
IV.
For forty days of ecstacy
We feel where thou didst roam,
But long in vain to see the spot
Which thou didst call thy home.
Oh, that one, glimpse to our dim eyes,
One shadowy glimpse were given,
To teach us that our earthly home
Nay glow with light from heaven




THE HMOTHER OF JESUS.               321
V.
Perchance it was a lovely place,
Men passed unheeded by,
Who would have mocked, if told how near
It towered to the sky.
But there, St. Mary, thou didst dwell
With the beloved one,
Him whom our dying Christ hath deemed
Meet to be called " thy Son."
VI.
There, oft in early Christian times,
Were lifted heart and voice,
As in your Saviour and your God'
Ye ceased not to rejoice.
While still ye talked, day after day,
With earnest, tearful smile,
Of Him who had departed hence
For but a little while.
VIIL
Would we indeed of that bright spot
One shadowy glimpse were given,
To teach us how an earthly home
May glow with light from heaven.
Then let us seek the Holy Word,
Which thou, St. John, did write;'T ill be as if that household blest
Arose before our sight.
VIII.
Thy word were humble as thy home
But for the light above;
Yet on thy page and on thy walls
One word is beaming —Love.
14*




322         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
Many an earthly home might be
Like that wherein ye dwelt,
Did we but strive each day to feel
The love ye ever felt.
In connection with the foregoing incidents, I beg
you to consider the prophetical relations, and character of Mary.
One of the immovable pillars upon which the divinity of the Bible rests, is the argument from prophecy. It never has been, it never will be shaken.
The fulfillment of prophecies concerning Babylon,
Tyre, Nineveh, Jerusalem, and the Jews, is so astonishing, that infidelity stands appalled before it.
So overwhelming is its attestation of the truth ofthe Bible, that no candid mind can thoroughly
grasp it, and retain a doubt in regard to the inspiration of this holy book.  But to my own mind the
fulfillment of prophecies concerning Jesus and his
mother, 3Mary, is still more interesting and conclusive. Trace with me now the line of prophecy,
from Eden's -garden to Bethlehem's manger.
Four thousand years before, in Eden, after the
fall, the promise was given that " the seed of the
woman"' not of man, " should bruise the serpent's
head." One thousand years after that, Enoch prophecied, " Behold the Lord cometh."  Three hundred and fifty years later, Abraham, a descendant
of Shem, a single person was chosen out of a world
gone into idolatry, to be the grand progenitor of
the predicted Messiah. Afterwards, the promise




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.         323
was individualized to Isaac, then to Jacob, in the
very terms of the Eden oracle, " In thee and in thy
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
On his death-bed, in Egypt, Jacob prophecied,
" The sceptre shall not depart from Judah nor a
lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come,"
Observe two specificationsFirst, of the tribe from which he should come;
second, of the time when he should appear.
Two hundred and fifty years later, Moses foretold
the prophet whom God would raise up; and Balaam
saw in the hazy future a " star that should arise out
of Jacob." Then came the mute prophecies of institutions, such as the paschal lamb, the scape goat,
the day and blood of atonement.
Four hundred years pass away, and David, of the
tribe of Judah, forms the royal and prophetic succession, and Messianic predictions are woven like
golden threads through the " rich brocade of the
Psalms."
Two hundred years later still, Isaiah, the gospel
prophet, foretold these particulars, that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, should bear the
name of Immanuel, should be a man of sorrows, despised of men, be put to death, rise again, and, by
his resurrection, swallow up death in victory. Micah, seven hundred years before the advent, wrote:
" And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be
little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee




324    i REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
shall He come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in
Israel, whose goings forth have been of old, from
everlasting." Daniel prophecied the rise and fall
of four empires, and the perpetuity of a fifth. He
foretold the time, in prophetic weeks, still later.Haggai cried out, " Yet a little while, and I will
shake the heavens, earth, sea, and dry land: and
the desire of all nations shall come."  And Malachi, the last prophet, joyfully exclaimed to the pious
Jews, four hundred years before the advent, 1" The
Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come into His
temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom
ye delight in."
Now,-in the events of Mary's life, which I have
narrated to you, behold the literal fulfillment of this
long line of prophecies, reaching from the garden
to the cross. Just as Daniel's prophetic time has
expired, the sceptre departed from Juclah, and the
world is waiting for His appearance, Messiah appears, the seed of the woman, the offspring of a virgin,
of the Jewish nation, of the tribe of Judah, of the
family of David; born at Bethlehem, called out of
Egypt, despised as a Nazarene; a man of sorrows,
bearing our griefs,-expiring on Calvary, arising on
the third appointed day out of Joseph's new tomb,
and ascending in triumph. Of this long line of
prophecies, stretching over four thousand years,
thus literally fulfilled, what think ye?  0 let it be
a golden chain to bind this Bible to your heart!




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.          325
The incidents of Mary's life enable us to form a
correct idea of her character and relation to the
Gospel scheme.
These have been subjects of discussion for ages.
The Romish Church has for centuries worshiped
Mary, ascribing to her divine honors. That church
has, overlooking the fact, that she was merely the
mother of the humanity of Christ, styled her "' mother of God"-"-'  queen of heaven "-" advocate of
sinners." It has commanded prayers to be offered
to her. It has established five annual festivals, to
celebrate her greatness, and keep alive the devotion of her worshipers. At Milan there is an altarpiece in memory of St. Bernard, representing two
ladders reaching from earth to heaven, at the top
of one of which stands Christ, and at the other
Mary; and while those who attempt to ascend by
Christ fall back unsuccessful, those who go up by
Mary's ladder all get safely in.
In the thirteenth century a Florentine order arose,
named The Servants of Mary. St. Philip Benizi
wrote for their use the Manual, called The Seven
Sorrows of the Virgin; and St. Bonaventure twice
paraphrased the Psalms in her honor. The first
church dedicated to her was the St. Maria in Trastevere at Rome. It still stands, and gives evidence
of great antiquity. To obtain any adequate idea
of the honor paid her, one must be at Genoa during
the Festival of the Annunciation. On one of the




326           REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
gates of that city is inscribed, " The City of the
Most Holy Mary;" and when the period of that
festival arrives, all business is suspended, the altars
of the Virgin are covered with flowers, and each
person bears a tulip to remind him of her,' while the
city echoes with the ringing of bells and chimes,
and the following monastic chant floats on the air:
" Hail, Mary! queen of heavenly spheres,
Hail, whom the angelic host reveres!
Hail, fruitful root! Hail, sacred gate,
Whence the world's light derives its date!
0 glorious Maid, with beauty blest!
May joys eternal fill thy breast!
Thus crowned with beauty and with joy,
Thy prayers for us, with Christ employ."
The present Pope has lately convoked bishops
from all parts of the world, who, by vote, have decided that it is' an article of divine faith that the
mother of God, our ever blessed lady, was conceived
without original stain."
On the eighth of last December, amid gorgeous
pomp, Pio Nino, in St. Peter's Church, read the
decision of the bishops. It took a whole half hour
to read the document. It is said the poor old man,
who is compelled to keep an army of foreign soldiers
between him and the affections of his people, was
obliged to stop several times and wipe the tears
from his eyes, with his lace pocket handkerchief.  I
have a theory, of my own about that whimpering.Abh, what a pity that he has no tears to shed over




THE -MOTHER OF J-ESUS         327
the ignorance, superstition, and poverty of those
who call him Father! Queen Isabella of Spain,
with the turpitude of whose moral character the
world is familiar, has presented the Pope with a
magnificent tiara, worth two hundred thousand
francs, encircled with eighteen thousand brilliant-s,
in gratitude for his decision in regard to Mary.
Now, that this is a false view of Mary's character and relation to the Gospel, is evident from the
fact that Mary herself ntever believed it.  If she
was born without sin, she lived without sin, and
therefore needed no Saviour.  But she said,' My
spirit doth rejoice in God my Saviour." Christ gave
no intimation of any such doctrine. If it were true,
would he not have taught it to his disciples?
Would he not, if it is a Christian duty to pray to
her, to pay her divine homage, to seek her mediation-have plainly enjoined it?  Assuredly.  But
he never did. What then have the Pope and his
Bishops done? They have added to the injunctions
of the Bible.  And Jesus himself said, CIf any
man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto
him the plagues written in this book."
In this connection a thought has flashed upon me
which I never saw or heard before.  It has always
seemed to me remarkable, that Jesus, speaking to
Mary in the presence of others, never called her
"mother," but always "woman."  Did he not foresee this tendency of human nature to idolatry, in




328        REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
worshiping her, and did he not thus early discountenance it?
Had the Lord Jesus Christ been present at that
gorgeous array of purple, fine linen, gold rings, and
worldly pomp which convened at the council referred to-where Bishops, deaf to the wails of a suffering world-solemnly talked about the immaculate conception of his mother, would he not have
said to them, as he said to the Jews, "' Who is my
mother?  And who are my brethren?  He that
doth the will of my Father which is in heaven, the
same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
The falsity of this papal view is seen also in the
fact, that- she had no connection with the public
ministry of Christ. During its three years continuance we hear of her only three times, and then incidentally. At Cana he rebuked her and said,
"Woman, what have I to do with thee?"  At
another time, "a certain woman of the company
lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is
the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou
hast sucked." But he said, " Yea, rather blessed are
they that hear the word of God, and keep it."
Its falseness is also seen in the fact, that in the
twenty-one apostolical epistles of the New Testament, there is not even a single reference to Mary,
of any kind, not even by John, with whom she lived
after the death of Christ, nor even by James, the
brother of our Lord. And in the book of Revela



THE MOTHER OF JESUSo          329
tions, where the future of the true church is revealed, you find no reference to her. But in that
book heaven is also opened to us, the throne of God
and the Lamb is brought to view, but we see no
deification of Mary.
The falsity of this view is further seen in the fact
that the early church- had no such ideas of the
mother of Jesus. During the first four centuries
none of the fathers dreamed of such idolatry, and
no delineations of her are found on Christian
monuments, or on the tombs of early believers, in
the catecombs of Rome; nor among the epitaphs
there do we ever find the petition addressed to her,
" Ora pro nobis."  It was not until a religious formalism, borrowing its gorgeous ceremonials from
heathenism, was substituted for spiritual Christianity, that the origin of the movement concerning
the worship of Mary, which has just reached its culmination, commenced.  Then she became the subject of the painter's art. And at first they always
represented her veiled, but afterwards the immortal.Raphael achieved his highest triumph, in representations of her unveiled, embracing her child. Then,
this sentimental admiration of her character, aided
by these magnificent representations of her person,
soon expanded into God-less adoration.  But all
this was unknown to the apostolic and early churches,
This view is also in direct opposition to the Bible.
It commands us to worship God alone,  This, to




330         REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN.
worship Mary. It declares that there is but one
mediator between God and man- the man Christ
Jesus.  This teaches us to seek the mediation of
Mary.  It teaches that there is but one way to
heaven, through the merits of Christ. This declares
that there is another, through the merits of Mary.
It, therefore, robs God of the divine glory due his
name alone.  It robs Christ of his glory, as the
only Saviour of men. It robs the Holy Spirit of the
glory of his office work.  It robs the Bible of its
glory as a complete revelation by adding a dogma.
it injures souls by diverting their attention from
the only supreme object of love and obedience. It
is sheer idolatry, over which, as she looks upon it
from her radiant home, Mary would weep bitter
tears, if grief could be felt in heaven.
In conclusion, I merely add that you can easily
perceive what her true character and relation to the
gospel was. With an open Bible before us, we behold her a mere woman, highly honored and blessed
of the Lord.  Standing in the.centre of human generations, she looms up before us, as in the sublimity
of the highest honored of humanity-herself, like
the rest of our race, conceived in sin, and brought
forth in iniquity. We behold her a virtuous mother of several children: the record says: that the
miraculous birth of Christ was " her first born son,"
indicating that subsequently, as the lawful wife of
Joseph, she was the mother of other children; and




THE MOTHER OF JESUS.'331
this intimation is confirmed by the testimony of the
Jews, who said, " Is not this the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren
James and Joses, and Simon and Judas? And his
sisters, are they not all with us?" We behold her
a devoutly pious woman, of unquestioning faith, of
unsullied character, who, accomplishing the highest, holiest earthly mission, and saved by the same
gracious, atoning merit, in which is all our hope,
entering heaven, and there singing the anthem of
the redeemed-" To Him  who was slain, and redeemed us to God by His blood."
The prophecy said, " All nations shall call her
blessed."  We do so to-day; and when " life's fitful fever shall be o'er," we hope to meet her in the
better land, and bowing with her, before the dazzling throne of her God and ours, and casting our
crown where she casts hers, at those glorified feet,
which yet bear the nail scars of the cross, evermore
join our voices with hers in the loud praises of redeeming grace and dying love.




332                EARTH'S ANGELS.
EARTH'S ANGELS.
BY MISS MARTHA JACOBS.
WHY come not spirits from the realms of glory
To visit earth as in the days of old,
The times of sacred writ and ancient story.
Is heaven more distant? or has earth grown cold I
Oft have I gazed when sunset clouds receding
Waved like rich banners at a host gone by,
To catch the gleam of some white pinion speeding
Along the confines of the glowing sky.
And oft when midnight stars in distant chillness
Were calmly burning, listened late and long,
But nature's pulse beat on in solemn stillness,
Bearing no echo of the seraph's song.
To Bethlehem's air was their last anthem given,
When other stars before The One grew dim  -
Was their last presence known in Peter's prison?
Or where exulting martyrs raised their hymn 2
And are they all within the veil departed?
There gleams no wing along the empyrean now;
And many a tear from human eyes has started,
Since angel touch has calmed a mortal brow.




EARTH'S ANGELS.                   333
No: earth has angels, tho' their forms are moulded
But of such clay as fashions all below,
Though harps are wanting and bright pinions folded
We know them by the love-light on their brow.
I have seen angels, by the sick one's pillow,
Theirs was the soft tone and the soundless tread;
Where smitten hearts were drooping like the willow,
They stood " between the living and the dead."
And if my sight by earthly dimness hindered
Beheld no hovering cherubim in air,
I doubted not, for spirits know their kindred,
They smiled upon the wingless watchers there.
There have been angels in the gloomy prisons,
In crowned halls-by the lone widow's hearth;
And where they passed, the fallen have uprisenThe giddy paused-the mourner's hope had birth.
I have seen one whose eloquence commanding
Roused the rich echoes of the human breast;
The blandishments of wealth and ease withstanding,
That hope might reach the suffering and opprest.
And by his side there moved a form of beauty
Strewing sweet flowers along his path of life,
And looking up with meek and love-lent duty;
I call her angel, but he called her Wife.
O many a spirit walks the world unheeded,
That, when its veil of sadness is laid down,
Shall soar aloft with pinions unimpeded,
And wear its glory like a starry crown.








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T




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writers. The whole breathes a right spirit; and it is a happy thing that this occasion has
been seized upon to give popularity and currency to reading of so pure and benevolent a
character."-Boston RBecorder.
THE  WONDERS  OF  HISTORY; comprising remarkable battles, sieg'es,
feats of arms, an.d instances of courage, ability, and magnanimity, occurring in the annals
of the world, from the earliest ages to the present time. Embellished with several hundred
engrasvings on wood. Compiled from the best authorities, by JoHN FROST, LL. D. 1 vol,
8vo. Price $2 50.
HEROINES  OF  HISTORY. Illustrated with six Steel Plate Portraits.
Edited by MLARYw E. HEwirr. 1 vol. 12mo. Price, Muslin, plain edge, $1 25; full gilt sides and
edges, $2.
HEROLJNEs OF HIsSTORY, BY M][ARY E. HEwrrr. —This is one of the most interesting volumes
we have he had the pleasure of readin  for a long tinu. The incidents of the lives of these
eminent women would of themselves render a history of them valuable, but when narrated
in a style as chaste and beautiful as that of Mary E. Hewitt, it is doubly valuable.
Our readers can therefore procure this work with the full assurance that they are purchasing a volume which has merit sufficient to class it among the very best publications
which have lately issued from the press.-Syracuse Daily Jourenal.
-lIEROINES OF HISTOmRY ILLUST{ATII). —The publication of thllis charming volume hla~s been
fully appreciated by the literati of New York and has been just as it should be. The seleotions of iliustrions women whose heroic lives it records, are rendered doubly interesting by
the truthful anld soul-stirring incidents portrayed tllroughout the work. The announceelenet
ofthese skletclhes of lives being arraned by tlhe fair.autlloress, (MArs.. E. Hewitt), is sufficient to comnmiand an extensive sale. The publishers have ornamented the work with sonme
beautiful illustrations of the principal characters.-Day Book.
The personal and doumestic details interwoven in the memoirs, enliven the record ef
graver events, and brighten our recollections of the history. The book is a charming one,
and should find a place in every lady's library.
TIE HOME; or Fioamily Cares and Family Joys. By FREDERINA BmIEimmX
Translated by lfary Hotlvil. The Author's Edition. 1 vol.  i2no. 419 pp. Price $1.
THE MIEMIOIR OF MIRS. HELEN  M. MASON.  Sevenlteen Years
a Missionary in Burmah. By her husband, Rev. FRANcIs MASON. 16mo. With a portrait
and several beautiful engravings. Price, cloth,. 60 cents. Gilt edge, $1.
"The personal character of Mrs. Mason was worthy of tihis beautiful delineation.  But
this is not all. She was for seventeen years a missitnary in Burnlalh; anld the slketches contained in this book, are more than a Memoir; they are so many clapter.- of thrilling hlistory
in the glorious enterprise of Christian missions, which will be read with deep interest by the
million. The book is printed on beautiful paper, and handsomely illustrated with four line
steel engravings.-N. Y. Weekly Chroonicle.
R




Books Published by Sheldorv, ELam'oo-t _- Blakenzan.
EXPERIENCES OF A BARRISTER. By WARRtEN WARNER, ESQ., of
the Inner Temple.    1 21mo. Illustrated.'rice, aIuslin, 75 cents. Paiper 50 cents.' This is a collection of tales orioinally published in tlle Edinburllh journal, and attributed
by  omein to Tamnel \rarren, E1sq., author of the' ],iary of a Physician.7  -t a.l events, they
are written  ith a graphic powere, every way way  orthy of that distinguislled cl   iter.  They
have enjoyed an ilmense popullarity in Engl:and, and theis republication in this countiy
will be -e!iconuled by thllousands.-Co sier and Enquirer.s
"Tise series of tales contained in this handsomely printed vollumle, have been attributed
to Samuel Walren, l'sq.,.uthor of tLe' I)iarl- of a'l.ysici:n,' Tel Tl:ousand a Year,' ac.
For our own partt, we confess to an utter indifference as to t.e namlce of'tie'author; it is
enougcl for ls to lnov tlhat the tales-iare verl ably -rit-ten. and are labsorbin'glr intserstilg'.
No one will underta.i e  their perusall without'e feeling al unwiillingness to lay dIsownu the book
until ev-elv  oaRe l:ts'eeen gone over.'ihe reader should know that these Experiences
al)peared originoilly in the Edinburglh;lagazine, and, in thle intervals of publicastion, were
widcely read alnd iceh commented on. We coinmend them to the notice of our readers."-.
FVitzgerald's Ciey Items.
"THE REXRIRIE NCE OF A' BoRRISER.-Thlis iork', from the same press, is apparently from
the saine source as the Recollections of a Policeman, and wie cannot omit to congratulate
the public on the return of one of its first favorites to the agreeable task of delighting some
millions of readers with the creations of his genius. "-BScott's Wee/ely Paper.
A GENERAL HISTORY OF THE BAPTIST DENOMINATION in
America and other parts of the World. By DavlID BFisEoicTr. Steel Engrarings, 1000 pp.
Royal Octavo. Sheep, $3 50. Cloth, $3.
*:*: A few more competent Agents may find profitable employ-ment in circulating this work
in fields not yet appropriated, particularly in the Wrestern and Southern States.  Apply to
the Publishers.
Preom PRe,. sTrillias? R. WT1iliadms, D. 1.-" The new editicn of Benedict's Ilistory seems
to the subscriber a book of much value. He has made large extracts; fr om the history of the
Mennonite'artyrs. From the great rarity of the iwork';ich filrniohes these, the extracts
will, to our chiuirches, have besides their own intrinsic interest, the additional charms of
novelty. As to tile Baptists of the United States, lhe has with laljoriols fidelity compiled a
mass of Ihistorical and statistical intelligence nowhere else to be found. and vwhich would, in
the judgmnent of the subscriber, make his voliume alhnost indisp:ensable to every one of our
pastors, and abundantly deserving of the p-stronslage and study of our churches."
i'e,7  Edvaecrd  B. Uinderhill, Resq., Cos. Sec. of the ianserd Knotlys Sociely, Ei,,glandc. —  The
- volume is indeed an Encyclopedia of Baptist ILiterature and tBaptist History; a book for perpetial reference in everything  relatilng to our external alfairs.": The wvork commences with a review of the dissenting parties of early tinies, among whom
Baptistic sentiments are traced with more or less distinctness.  It increases, however, inl interest, as it advances to later periods, where facts are established more numerous and incontestable historical documenits.  Since the publication of the earlier work];, a good deal of
progress has been made in investigating the character and hiistory of tire Anabapltists of the
Rleformation, and Mtr. Benedict has made goodl use of the additionsal iutormation whiich Isas
been gained in this departmnent  of historical literature.  Indeed, we think this part of the
wnork intensely interesting, and worth far more thian the cost of the volume.
"The work conltains lilkewise an extended review of writers cand iwritings on thle baptismntl
crutroversy, both rAmerican and Foreign, some of them exceedingly curious and interesting.
It then proceeds to the distinct considleration of Americans Baptists, whose rise is narrated
at very considerable length.  In our opinion all Baptists should possess it.' —VLew York
2Recorder.'it presents an astonishing  amount of statistical information, and excites the wronder of
the readler, thos, in all its detail, it could have been collected. -"-New York Baltist tReyister.
W WTe commend this great vwork to our readers.  Let every Baptist in the land secure a
copy-.' —Alabama Baptist.
"T her e is no other single work which even approaches in completeness and comprehen.
siveness of design, Benedict's History of the Baptist." —Chlrstian Jfesiew.
IDA  NORMAN; or Trials and their Uses.    By  Mrs. LINCOLN  PHELPS
1 vol., l2mo. Price $1 25.
Q




Books P'ublishI by Sh'/elido, LZ nport 4' Bia/ceaca.
THE   BAPTIST   LIBR,,oARY.   A   republiication  of  Standard  Baptist
Works. Edited by Rev. MessRs. G. G. SOnEims, W. R. AWrI.LIAfs, and I,. L. RII.L. 1 vol.,
royal ostavo. $3 50. Consisting of over 1300 pages, and embracing the following works:
Westlake's General View of Baptism. Wilson's Scripture Manual and MdKiscellany. Booth's
Vindication of Baptists. Biography of Samuel Stillman, D.D.   Biography of Samuel
Harris. Biograpihy of Lewis Iunsford. Backus' History of the B iptist.    The Watery
War. I'engilly's Scripture Guide to Baitism. Fuller on Communion. Booth's Poedobaptism Examined. Dr. Coxs Reply to Dwight. Bunyan's Grace Aboundiug. Thle Backslider; by Fuller. Hall on the Ministry. Hall's Addr:ess to Carey.  HIall on ilModern Infidelity. Bunyan's Holy War. I-all's Revier of Foster The Gospel Worthy o-f all Acceptation. Peter and Benjamin. Prof Ripley's Review of Griffin on Comimunion. liemoils
&f Rev. Robert Hall. Fuller on Sandemanianism. Memoirs of Rev. Samuel Pearce. Brantley
on Circumcision. Covel on the American and Foreign Bible Society. Terms of Communion.
The Practical Uses of Christian Baptism; by Andrew Fuller. Expository Discourses on
Genesis; by Andrew Fuller. Decision of Character; by John Foster.' The Travels of True
Godliness; by Benjamin Keach. Help to Zion's Travellers; by Robert Hall. Tile Death
of Legal I-ope; by Abraham Booth. Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ; by John Bunyan.
Biosgra2.hical Sketches of Elijah, Craig, Joseph Cook, Daniel Fristoe, Oliver Hart, Dutton
ane, Jaines Manning, Richard Major, Isaac Backus, Robert Carter, Silas Maercer, Joshua
Morse, Joseelh Reese, John W1raller, Peter Worden, John Williams, Elijah Baker, James
Chiles, Lemuel Covel, Gardener Thurston, Jeremiah Walker, Saunders Walker. William
Webber, Shubael Stearns, Eliakim Marshall, Benjamin Foster, Morgan Edwards, Daniel
Marshall.
"1 The Library is a deservedly popular work; for it is a choice selection from pious and
talented productions. The writings of such men need. no encomnism. Most of them have
long been favorably known. They have stood the test of time. It contains some rare and
costly works; some that are little known, yet highly prized by all who have enjoyed the
priivilege of perusing them. Here the humblest child of God may; if he choose, secure
standard autllors, for a-trifle, and bless h'mself with a fund of useful reading, unsurpassed
by any similar compilation in Christend)m. We cordially approbate the publication. It
merits a liberal patronage."-WYetelrn apltist Reseew.
"THE COURSE OF EMPIRE," "VOYAGE OF LIFE," and other
Pictures of Tuoi0as COLE, N. A. With selections froma his letters and miscellaneous writings. By Rev. LEwis L. NOBLE. 415 pages. 12izon  Price $1 25.
" All those who love tolinger about the memories of a good man's life, and draw lessons
of encouragement and great value from the records of his struggles, his self-denials, his indomitable perseverance, his beautiful traits of character, his genius, and his triumphs, will
eagerly read this work, nor forget, while they profit by its perusal, to thank Mr. Noble fol
the manner in which he has executed his " labor of love," and the publishers for the elegant and enduring form in which they have given it to the public. "-tbazty pExpress.
" To all those who are interested in the strugirles, the developments and the triumplhs of
genius, no less than to those who are admirers of the art of which CGole was such a master,
this book is full of interest and instruction.'N-1V.. Cozurier and Enquierer.
"This is a boolk that every artist and person of taste should possess.'"-1   Y.. Exps'Ps.
" Every page is marked with the impress of a lofty genius and the breathing of a pure
spirit. " —Albany Argus.
"We deem it a model for Biographical Literature, and commend the work to our readers
as one from which they muay deri ve both pleasure and profit. "-The Chrchnzmae.
"' We cannot escape the impression that one of the best and most guileless of all the professors of his art in this country was taken to the skies when Cole passed into them. His
memory is a benison. It is written vitl ftacility and grace, anld has about it the unmistake
able aroma of a true and appreciative friendship. "-1V. Y. Isdcependent.
"'Young  men should read this book.  It will show  them  what perseverence will
accomplish, and teach them not to be discouraged when overshladowed with the dark cloud
of misfortune 7 —aininnati Star.
Nf




Books L Published by Sheldon, Lamport     BIc3lakeman.
THE( CHiURCHES AND SECTS OF THE UNITED STATES: Contain.
ing a brie  account of the Origin, History, Doctrines, Church Government, Mode of Worship, Usages   and Statistics of each Religious Denomination, so far as known. By Rev. P.
DO-uG,SASs GO'.mIim. Price 63 cents.
"It will be found and prized as a valuable and convenient boolk of reference."-n-CVristian
(,server.' Itis a book for all'the world, and will, we predict, be found in every library thronghout
l u lis h Christendom.' "-1-Y N..  s7Weiy   Cflhronicle.
"The - utlor has stc-died brevity, comprehensiveness and accuracy; and we knsow of no
vw.ork so fairly and fhlly describing the history, doctrines, and present state of al! the different uenorninations of the country as this." —fV. Ea. zgelist.
CHRISTIAIN, GREATNESS; A  discourse on the death of Friend Humphrey. By WmiLLIXt D1ArSUJE D. D. Price 121 cents.
COMIPENDIU3M OF THE FAITH OF THE BAPTISTS. Paper. Price
4 cents —Every Church should get a supply for its members.
LORENZO DOW'S COMPLETE WORKS. The dealings of God, Mlan,
and the Devil; as exemplified in the Life, Experience, and Travels of LORa.cEO Dow, in:
period of over half a century. Together with his Polemic and Miscellaneous WYritings,
complete; to wThich is added
THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE. By PEGcGY Dow.
" Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. —Davi.d.'
With an introductory Essay, by the Rev. JorNI Dowa-aG, D.D., of New York, author of.istolr of Roeanisnz, &c. Two volumes in one. Svo. O50 pp. Embossed binding, emnbel.
lished with Steel Portraits of Lorenzo and Peggy Dow. Price f$2 50.
One month he would be heard of laboring for the good of souls, in his own peculiar way,
in the neighborhood of his native New England home; the next, perihaps, bravinl tlihe frost
and snow of a Canadian winter; the next on his way to Ireland or to En gland, in the prose.
secution of the same benevolent purpose; and six months afterwards, perlhaps, encounter.
ing the dangers and hardships of a Georgia, or Kentucky wilderness, or fleeing for his life 
from the tomalhawk or the Scalping-knife of the Indian savage, in the then untrodden wilds
of the great Valley of the West.
Pale, sallow, and somenishat consumptive in the appearance of his countenance; dressed
in the plainest attire, witl his sisngle-breasted coat, often worn thread-bare-and in hlis later
years wearing a long Lfowing patriarchal beard; his whole appearance was such as to awaken
a high degree of cnriosity and interest.
[hen the suddenness and the promptitude of his advent in a town or village, at the very
h )ur and minute  he had appointed, perhaps some twelve or eighteen months before, the
baldness with which he would attack the ruling vices, and denounce wickedness-either i'
high places or low —the general adaptation of his dry and caustic rebukes to the sin and follies prevalent in places he visited, and which he seemed to know almost intuitiively; together wvith thle biting sarcasm and strong mother-wit that pervaded his addresses; —all
served to invest the approach to any place of the G' crazy preacher," (as he was frequently
called), with an air of singular and almost roniantic interest.
Scarcely a neighborhood, from Canada to Georgia, or from the Atlantic to the Miississippi,
that has not some tradition to relate, or some tale to tell of the visit and the preaching of
Lorenzo Dovr; and scarcely an old man in all those regions that has not some one or mo-e
of the witty sayings of Lorenzo Dow to relate to his children and his grand-ehildren.-Exircrtd
froesm f!he IiTroduectiois?
0




Books -Published by; Sheldon, L.,Emport 8 Blakena n.
DOMESTIC SLAJVERY CONSIDERED AS A SCRIPTURAL IiSTh.
TUTIOx; In a Correspondence between the Rev. RTCHAIRD FUiLEvrm D.-D., of Beaufort, S. C
and the Rev. FRsCIS WAYLANLD,  D.D., of IProvidence~ R. I. 18mo. 40 cents.' In this book meet two great minds, each triecd long known well, clear, cali and strong.
The point on whlliclh they reet is a  oreat one-few so great for weal or woe. i   illce it first
shlioo  our latnd, the strite, from  clda to day, has grown more keen a.nd more harsh. ilt
cheeers the helt', s-when there is so much strife, anid so free a use of lharsh wordts, to see men
like those whose nlames are at the lheotd of thlis pieee write in a tone so kind, and so apt to turn
the edoe of sitrife.  B13t, thlughl its tonle be kind and calin, its style is not the less s-reong.
Each brin-s to bear all tlhat a clear hcead anld a sound mlind can cacll forth.   hlien two so
strong mindiss meet, there is no reooml for weak  wo:dls.  Fch wordi tells  each lilne b ears itl.weight on the main poilt, —eachl small page le.s in it more of thoughtl  than wealk mien crowd
into largP a book. "-C-iU'es.iponetoe f of Nrational Intelligence)r.
T'his is the best spzecihnen of controversill writing on Slavery, or any other subject, we
have ever reatd.  The parties ecgagedl in it are onen of high distinction, ancd pre-eminiently
qulalified for the talsl;  ancd the klind and Christian spirit which pervadles the entire work is
a beautiful commenotary on the power of the Gospel.  This discussion is colmplete, and whoever reatds it need read nothing more to enabe him to form a correct view of the subject in
q estion.' —Lutheroanr Obseirveer.' Its thoroughness, ability, and admirable candor, and the great and growving importance
of the subject, entitle it to a univers?- circulation." l~   Y.'   Y aozgelist.
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS. Practically,.xplained.  By Dr. AucusTcs NEAX'DER.  Translated from  the Germlan, by  Irs.. -f. C
ConLnt.  12mo. 140 pp.  50 cents.
" This -work is exactly -what it professesses to be, not learned critic.ism, but a practical explanation of thie Epistle to the Philippians.  It comprises two popular lectures. which will
not fail to interest any intelligent Christian who wvill read them witch care.  Clergtymlen will
find this work eminently suggestive of new trains of thought which may be profitably used
in the sacred dlesk.' I-Lilerary Advertiser..
THE EPISTLE OF JAMES PRACTICALLY EXPLAINED. By Dr.
tUGUSrTUS NEAxiDER.  Translated from the German, by Mfrs. Il C. Cozcant. 50 cents.
" The friends of religious truth w-ill be glad to see this Commentary on the Epistle of
James. followinil so soon on the   lhililppicias.  l'erhaps no book of the New Testameent has
beenll  oe mo i isuilerstood tha than this Epistle, on account of a suppo1sed  conltrariety  between
its teachings acld the'doctrines  of grace.'    A more comprelihensive and philosohllical
esegesis, lo.sever. sees icl thel epistles of James anrd Paul only the same system  of truth setforth fronm= dilferenti points of view.  iThe worik of Neaender is Ia most valuable assistance in
the elucidation ocf thiis epistle.  zy lookinlg at it froom his oern eeminently ilistorical e,-int of
view, we are able to  ce, a t a  lance, ho-w it faills beautifully into its iplace in tle system  of
Chrllist, confenlrirnin  ratlecr dl-in weaeening l the great dcoctrines, the inculcatione  of;llich the
Holy Ghost seerle- to have intrltsted to P-atul. The translation is clear caild'-io-satic, and
almost entirely fiee fi'om tie abstract:   and cumbrous phrallseology tliat too often imarkls trans3ations from the German. No cler        -mann or Sunda y-:-chool teacher can fail to feel his cmcind
invirorated and his heart enlalrged by the study of this little work. -I-'eeet lere,7A Recorder.
"Mrs. Conant has devoted her accomplished skill as a tracnsclator, to a good purpose, in
Tenlerine into English this charming production of Neander. This smalll voe:nne succeedIs a
similar one,on thle Epistle to the PThilippians, and is itself to be`tellowed lby another on the
FirstEpistle of John-a work published since   e the utlor's death.  Ms e cannot doubt that
these volumes W ill be dlesired by ministers generally, and we commend theim to all thoughtful
stutlents of the Bible. "-W ryatcLman ancd I ejlecto-.
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. Practically explained by Dr. AUGUSTUS
NEcANODER..  Translated from, the German, by  le-s. H. C. Conant.  12mo.  319 pp.  Price
85 cents.
THE SCRIPTURAL EXPOSITIONS of Dr. NEADsEn, complete. Comprising the above three books, bourd in one volumle. 8yo. Price $1 75
I,




B)oks Published by Sheldon,.Lanmport 4 Blakeman.
THE  NAPOLEON  DYNASTY; or the History of the Bonaparte Family.
An entirely new work by the Berkeley Men. With 22 authentic Portraits. 1 vol. 8vo.
624 pp. Price, $2 50.
A very handsome volume, In paper, typography and plates, greets us under the title here
given-a-nd after the numberless books heretofore published in the shape of memoirs. biographies and histories, about the Bonapartes, and him  in particular who was the Bonaparte-it will be found fresh and new in many of its details, and attractive by its dashing
style and rapid narrative. All the members of the family, including the young brevet lieutenant in the U. S. Army, who has just been graduated from West Point, and who bears the
name both of his g:and-father and his grand-uncle-Napoleon Jerome Bonaparte-are duly
chronicled here; and among the documents new to us, and we believe before unpublished,
contained in this work, is the correspondence between Napoleonl and Pope Pius VII, relative to the divorce which Napoleon urged the Holy Father to pronounce between Jerome and
his American wife, Miss Patterson-and the absolute refusal of the Sovereign Pontiff to comply with his request. There is much dignity and manliness in the letter of the Pope, and
exceeding littleness in that of the Emperor.
Josephine, FIortense, Maria Louisa, Joseph Beauharnais, Murat, and indeed all the race.
figure in these pages; and each has a portrait said to be, and with great probability, accurate likenesses. " —Courier and Enquirer.
II We heartily commend it to the attention of our readers, as one of the most valuable
works which has recently been published. "-Eveninzg,irror.'A work of deep interest and undoubted authenticity."'',ournal of Conmmerce.
"The Berkeley Men have produced a Book which forms a valuable addition to the biographical literature of the world, and bears on its face the impress of great historical
research and ability. There is not a dry page in it."-Sunday Atlas.'This work is surpassingly beautiful. "-Boston Evening Gazelte.' We feel assured that we may commend it for its eloquent and brilliant character as a
literary -work. Pens of more than ordinary power having evidently been engaged in its
production." -Philadelphia Courier.
" The design of the book is carried out with great skill; the style is terse, but glowing;
the typography of the highest order, and the portraits from original sources, executed with
care and truthfulness. We do not see how it can fail to acquire a popularity and circulation seldom equaled by any biographical production."-1V. Y. Times.
THE RO-MISH  CONTROVERSY.  Being a Series of Essays on some
of the Leading Doctrines of the Church of Rome, as follows:
TaE DOCTRINE OF TRANSUBSTrTMATrOX, subversive of the foundationIs of Human Belief,
therefore, incapable of being proved by any Evidence, or of being believed by Men under
the influence of Common Sense.
THE RIGHT AmND DUTY of all men to read the Scriptures.
The scheme of Salvation by Law and Grace Irreconcilable with itself.
Strictures on the Speech of Rt. Hon. Wim. C. Plunkot, on the Catholic question.
Strictures on the Letter of J. K. L., c., &c., &c., &c.
One Volume, 12mo. Muslin. $1.00.
THE NEIGHBORS.  A  story of every day life.  By FREDERIKA BREMER.
Translated from the Swedish by nary Ibowitt. Author's edition witll a new Preface.
1 rol. 12mo. 439 pp. Price $1.00.




Books Published by Sheldon, Lamport 4  Blakeman.
MAPLETON; or More Work for the Maine Law   By PHARCELLUS CHURCH.
1 volume, 12mo., of about four hundred and fifty pages. Price, $1. Cloth. Four Editions
have been called for in a few weeks.
What the Press says of it.
" No book that we have recently read has so wrought upon our feelings as this.' —Boston
r5oaveller.
" It is a powerful work, combining the dramatic interest and vivid character-painting of
fiction with the deep insight and comprehensive views of a mature and able thinker."2. Y. Recorder.
" Remarkable for the insight which it exhibits into human character, and powerful in
the grasp of the subject which is manifested, Mapleton comes to us with a freshness of
thought, a vigor of expression, and a power of argument, calculated at once to charm the
fancy, to attract the imagination, and to influence the judgment."-liass. Life Boat.
" The narrative is so diversified in its scenery and persons, the plan so striking, the field
so large, and the descriptions so graphic, the progress towards the result itself so unex.
pected —at least it was so to me-that I cannot but think the author is conferring a benefit
on the United States, at least, if not on the world."' —ComsmunLicated to the Puritan Recorder
I' Though a fiction, the characters are drawn to life, and we see plainly before us, panorama-like, in living pictures, the horrid effects of the use of intoxicating liquors. It is
not only a very interesting book, but one peculiarly adapted to the times."'-Amnerica News,
Keene, I2. I.
" The writer has portrayed, in a clear and energetic style, the different characters which
are introduced, and sustains them with great tact, having evidently seen life above stairs
and below stairs too. "-M-aine Flarmesr.
"; It is written with a good deal of power, possesses a tragic interest, and portrays only
too vividly the direct and indirect, the immediate and remote consequences of the fearful
evil it would help to remove.' —Bostols  Christian1 Regieste'.:'This powerful work is destined to exert a mighty influence upon the masses towards
the enletment and enforcement of the Maine Law. Already has the press throughout the
country teemed with its-praises. —-t presents many graphic pictures, and the storyt is extremely interesting, ahd is well interwoven with argunients which make it a valuable'as
well as interesting work. We have read it with as much satisfaction as we took in poring
over the pages of' Uncle Tom,' " —Mass. Teacher.
"A  book of thrilling interest, written in a pleasing style, and with great po-wer."-1Adani's T4Wee7cly Transcript.," Written in a pleasing, famil'ar style, and in many passages most thrilling. "-Eiastern
Argus.
" It has the merit of transcending in extent of plot, and felicity of narrative, all its com
peers. There is much to commend in the clear and vigorous style of the composition."'Taunton Daily Gazette.
" Many of its scenes are sketched with the skill of a artist. "'-Dedhams Democrat.' It is well written-abounding in impressive lessons. " —Torcester Ncational /gis.
REPRESENTATIVE  WOMEN; from  Eve, the Wife of the First, to Mlary,
the Mother of the Second Adam: in one volume of twelve highly interesting Biographies.
By G. C. Baldwin, D D., Pastor of First Baptist Church, Troy, N. Y. Neatly bound iu
Muslin. Price, $1.00.
CONTENTS.
I. EmE: The Tempted and Fallen Woman.
II. SARAH; The Deferential Wife.
III. JocEEBED: The Mother triumphant in trial.
IV. MIeRIAm: The First Prophetess.
V. RUTH: The Youthful Widow.
VI. ENDOR'S WITCH: The Female Spiritualist.
VII. AEIGAIL: The Superior Wife of an Inferior Husband.
VIII. SHEBs's QUEEN: The Wise Woman.
IX. ESTHER: The Resistless Petitioner.
X. ELIZABETH: The Believing Wife.
XI. MARY, THE MOTHER eF JESus: with a review of the lati Papal Dogma concerning her.
11




hooks JPhb1hszed biy $S/eldon, L4ampor't 4 Bclakemnai.
EGYPT, ARABIA PETRIEA, AND THE HOLY LAND. A Journal
of Travels in Egypt, Arabia Petraca, and the Holy Land.  By DAviDm.,ILLuRD, Professor
of Biblical Antiquities and Sicred Geography in the Theological School, at 2Headville, Pa.
1 vol. 848 pp.; embossed binding. 8xo. price $2; 12mo. price $I.
From among the various ll —erary notices taken of tlis work we select the following;-' JOURNAL OF TRAVEIS IN EGirPT, ARABIA PETRsvA; AND THE HOLY LANTD, BY PDAsID M'ILLARD.-.
A more interesting work of the kind, we think, has rarely ever been brought before the
public. The subject treated upon recoinmends itself, and those who wish to save time and
gain infornmation will find this volume a varlualle companion.. A general fault with descriptive works of this part of the globe is the size-so numerous are the thoughts that crowd oa
the writer-here, however. -we find the whole hlappily condensed within reasonable limits.
and with language so well' chosen that the reader may intellectually follow the guidance of
the author. The writer thinks, and -we agree vi'cth him,  that no volume of equal dimensions can be found to contain more informa.tion on the countries of which it treats than
thlit.' W-re have no personal acquaintance writh the author, and know not his religious sentimenis, but we are persuaded thlat, while all readers will find something in the book that
will please them, no Christian will find that with whc h he will have cause to be displeased'
Religious s Recolrde r.
" We deem this volume the -most interesting book of travels relating to the countries of
which it treats, that has come under our inspection. Its condensed form, and concise manner, together witll the richness of its matter, render it a valuable work. I"-Monroe Republican.
"I have read BMillard's' Travels in Erypt, Arabia Petrsee and the Holy Land.' it is well
worth tlhe price, and cannot fail to interest readers of every class. It is to be hoped this
book will circulate widely. — Christicain ferald.
TIHE ORIGIN OF THE INORTH A-sl.ERICAN INDIANS, with a faithful
description of their manners and customs, both civil and military, their religions, langulges, dress, and ornaments: including various specimens of Indian eloquence, as well
as listorical and biographical sketches of almost all the distinguished nations and celebrated wlarriors, statesmen, and. orators among the Indians qf Nsorih America. New
Edition, improved and enlarged. 1 vol. 8vo. Illustrated with 8 colored Plates. Price
$1 50.
This is believed to be the best history of the origin and customs of the American Indians
ever published, and worthy of place in every library in our land.
OVERING, or, the  H3eir of Wycherly.   A   historical  Romance.   By
ELDuRED GoRAeSON, ESQ., author of "Stanzdish, Ihe Puritan," etc. 416 pp. 12mo. IMuslin.'rice 51.
The principal scenes of " Overiizg" are laid in Rhode Island, and the story opens on
the coast of that minist-invested region, when Rhode Island was a province, some seventyeight years ago. It covers the balance of that period, and the stirring times of the revolution vwhich succeeded it, and which resulted in its freedom with the twelve other States of
the confederacy, fromn the galling thraldom  of unjust and oppressive English rule.  The
story is admirably inanaged, and the characters are drawn with a bold, dashing, and skillful pencil.
I' The interest is wvell kept up to the close, and in all respects it is a work which will
command the attention of the reading public, and become a standard work of American
historical romance.  Its typographical attractions vie with the interest of its contents, and
display a taste and care which must command for the publishers the public commenda.
tton.l "-A lbauny Siaie Register.'" What wve leave read is so interesting that the volume will not pass out of our hands
until we see the' illis.) "-Boston Eveeing Gazetle.'" Overing is certainly issued in beautiful style, and if the gem be worthy of,he casket —
the story of its typographical dress in which it is given to the public-it must take high
rank among American works of fiction. It belongs to the same class of works with Mrs.
Child's Hobomock' " Peep at the Pilgrims," and Mr. lotley's later romance. "' —Lowd.l Pager.
W



Boo/ks Juibliished by  SAeldow, Larnorlt      BZlakemanLb.
AN OLIO OF DOMIAJSTIC VERSES. By the late'Irs. IEMILY Juisow:
1 vol.!       iPm.  2:;5 pp.  i'ice, cloth plain, 6-1 eClts; cloth full gilt, $1.
We are colfiddent there,ire thoursands in our land who would delight in t'his volunme  of
poems by the estimable and devoted wife of one of the greatest men of modern timiIes
IRVINKg:' ONE THOI SAND RECEIPTS; or M,[oderro and Domestie
Cooleiry. A compl-te direction for carving, pasiry, cooking, preserving, pickling, making
svines, jellies, &c., f&c. Withla complete table of Cookingr for Invalids. By LucCrEIvlRsINcG.
216 pp. 12mo. MIuslin. Price 75 cents.
THE  PASTOR'S  HANDB 1OOK.   Comprisillng                    Selections of Scripture.
arranged for various occasions of Official Duty; Select Formulas for the.!larria'e Ceremony,:&c.; Rules of Order for Churches, Ecciesiastical and other Deliberate Assemnblies;
and Tables for Statistical Record.  By Rev. AV. 7. Evenrs.  50 cents.
The following recommanendations from ministers of different denominations, set forth the
character and claims of the book:
"It contains Scriptures arr:anged for occasions of official duty, as funerals the visitation
of the sick, the celebration oft marriage; also several amarriage iormns suited to various modesl
of the celebration of that institution; also devotional excerpt tfor the celebration of marriage
for funeraLls aind for the Lord's oSupper; also rules for professional life and services, cornpiled siom distillguisled divines.; also rules of order for ecclesiastical and other delibe:ative
assemnblies, togetlher with various ecclesiastical forluilas; and finally, several tables by
which issay be preserved from year to year a statistical record of professional services, of thle
history of churches, of relioious denominaations, and of Cristian missions. Th'lloughl repu
diatini, cumbeione, and restrictive orm boloks, ve believe that a buook of this kind has long
been filt to be a, desideratum anmonost Protestant clergymen of all denomlinations, arnd ar
persuaded that this volume, so coniprehensive in plan, so various in matLer, pointing out
rules of professional service approved Iby the most emlinent divines, and withalx gotten tie p in
a form and binding so convenient lor uase. will be tound exceedingljy serviceable to ra.stor
generally.  Wle cordially coimlenld it to the attention of all, stnd especially youno clelr'ycmen
Thomas -I. Slinner,  1). I'1... Welch,  D. D.
George Peck, D. I).                        John orowling, D. D.
G. B. Cheever, s.   D.                     N oah Levins D.D. 1).
William R. Williams, D. D.                 Rev.  H. Pais,
Chas. PIitmnan, I).D.                      Rev, J. L. Hlode,
S. 1. Conse,.  D.                         Rev. Edward,lathrop,
Thomas le LaVitt, D. D.                    Rev. O. B. Judd."
THlE POWER OF ILLUSTRATION; An Element of Success in Preaching and Teaching'.  gy Joux Dowm LaxcG D.D. 18mo. 30 cents.''This is an a'dmirable book. though smail, and treats of an highly important subject,
which yet has never, so far as we are -awvare, been handled before in a distinct treatise.
Would that tlire were some law to compel every candidate for the mlinistry to poasse3s this
little volume! We imagine that there vould be less compla4int of tlse dlulliess of serrlons.'
Beoston Becorader.
"WIe would recommend its careful perusal, not only, to every claergyman and SabbathSchool teacher~, but to every public speaker.  No one, awe thinlk, can give it a readling without hbeing consinced of the great advantae, not to say, necessity, of iltustration, in order
to ensure suc'cess in teaching or preachilng.
i Te -vriter attempts to-I. Explain the science qof sitslstation, and specify the principal
classes of analogies which it employs, with exasiples for the use of each. HI. iWhat is meant
by the  ioweri of itlustration, and gives somue directions for its successful cultivation and ilmprovement;.  — Alabamsa Baytist.
"Modifications have been made for the general benefit, and to adapt tie principle to
teachers of every gradation, including especially those of the S:abbathl School. The author
has done a good service, by fornishing the pregnant hints and significait examples, avhic
will raise thought and incite to effort, to make the acquisition of the power of illustration."
CIristsian Mirror.
"  cDr. Dowling treats his subject con aossore, andl we hope, for goodness' sake, he may succeed in convincing a great many clergymen and other public speakers."-Christian iIzquiarcr
" Every Minister of Jesus Christ's G(ospel should be possessed of this work. It is the most
complete instrllctor of parabhoical composition that we have ever studied. "-Ba.ptztEtlsegrapt..
xS 




Books I`uVish, ed by Sheldon, Lamport' Blakemart.
A PURE CHRISTIANITY THE WORLD'S ONLY I-OPE. By Rev,
R. W. CUSLaNIAN. A Practical and Standard Work. 18mo. 30 (ents.
The events, in the religious world, that mark the present time, show that the day has
colne when the corruptions of Christianity must be dealt with faithfully, and Christianitg
itself must be vindicated from the surreptitious institutes and usages which have claimed
its authority and assumed its name.
"This little book is a desideratum-ought to be read by all classes. It is a most able,.o+t to say masterly vindication of scriptural or primitive Christianity, both in reference to
ts spirit and its organization and ordinances.'" —Baptist Record.' Thllere is in this work a forcible statement of some prevalent obstacles to the progress of
pure religion which ought to be universally studied. T'he author shows a sagacious and
penetra.ting muind in his view of the subject, and a degree of boldness and outspoken honesty
in setting it forth, quite worthy of a follower of Roger Williams.  We commend it to all
who love religious freedom, as worth study and admiration." —V. Y. Evangelist.
POEMS, SACRED, PASSIONATE, AND LEGENDARY. By iARY
E. HEwIr. 12111mo. Muslin. Full gilt, $1.
": The author of this volume is favorably known to the public by her numerous literary
productions, both in prose and velrse. As a poetess she is distinguished for deep feeling,
variety and beauty of illustration, and fluency of expression. Many of her best pieces are
founded on historical incidents and legendary traditions. In her treatment of subjects of.
this kind, she shows a lively imagination and often a high degree of descriptive power.
( We welcome the appearance of her poems in this collected form and are sure that they
will make good her claim to an honored place among her tuneful sisters. " —-N. IY Tribune.
THE ROMANCE OF THE FORUMI  or Narratives, Scenes, andAnecdotes.
-from Courts of Justice. By PETlmR BURKTE1:, EsQ., of the Inner Temple. 12mo. Muslin..08 pp. Price 75 cents.
"I This book deserves its name, for it is made up of some of the most strilling cases that
have ever been brought before judicial notice.
"The trite and yet over-true maxim that' truth is stranger than fiction,' forces itsell
upon the reader at every successive page.
"Its materials are entirely authentic, and the impression it leaves, salutary."-Courier
and Ensquirer,
" This is truly an extraordinary book. It is not, as one might at first suppose, a mere
romance, but it professes at least to be the faithful record of scenes and events which have
actually occurred.
" The book is an admirable exponent of some or other of the wayward tendencies or leadino characteristics of human nature. It has somewhat the same general character with'Confessions of an Attorney,' and' Experiences of a Barrister,' both of which are among
the rmost thrilling of modern productions."-Albany Asglus.
" It is replete with thrilling interest from beginning to end, and we prophecy a popularity
for the work here equal to that it received in England. "-Rochester Usnison.
RECOLLECTIONS OF A POLICEMAN. By TtHoxas WATERS, an Inspector of the London Detective Corps. 1 vol. 121o. Price, Muslin, 75 cents; Paper 50 c.
" It is a first-rate book. The stories are told in a straight-forward, distinct, graphic style,
which renders them as effective as testimony upon oath. They remind us strongly of Dr.
Wasrren's  Diary of a Physician.' Indeed, their style is so nearly identical, that we do not
hesitate to express the opinion that -Warren is their writer. "-Scott's Tleekly Paper.' It is filled with vivid pictures of European Life, drawn with no less skill than fidelity."
VN. Y. T7ribtune.
T' The' Recollections of a Policeman.'-This is the title of a volume which is very interesting —we might say exceedingly so, for we have seen its effects upon two gentlemen, who
casually took it up, and remained dumb members of society, till they reached' Finis,' which
lies at the end of page 238. It is a series of reminiscences written by Thomas Waters, an Inspector of the London Detective Corps, and there is incident and plot enough in his personal
adventures, whereupon to build a dozen novels. If the reader possesses an inclination for
noting how singularly crime is at times discovered, this is the book."-Evening Gazellte.
" This is a book that is read by the thousand. It has all the interest of a novel with the
substantial merit of matters of ftact, with a good moral. The work was issued but a few
daes ago, and the first edition is already exhausted.-Ne/e York Chronicle.
y,




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LIFE, ADVENTURES, AND TRAVELS IN CALIFORNI-A AND
OREGON. By Col. T. J. F,ewaam. Pictorial Edition. 1 vol. 8vo. 514 pp.  mnbossed
binding. Price $2.
THE SERMONS AND OTHER WRITINGS OF THE REV. ANDREW
BROADDUS; with a Memoir of' his Life, by J. B. JETER, D. D. Edited by A. BROADDUS.
son of the author, and Minister of the Gospel. 557 pp. $1 15.
" This handsome and substantial volume will be warmly welcomed by the thousands who
as. re listened to the glowing eloquence of Father Broaddus, during his protracted ministry,
as we'll as by many who have heard of his fame as a pulpit orator. The Serm'ons, which are
eight in number, and the notes on select passages of Scripture, prove that their author was
possessed of much sound scriptural knowledge, a vivid imagination, and a fervid, glowing
piety. We welcome the volume as a valuable contribution to our American Baptist Literature. The neat and life-like pctra, L engraved by Bannister, will increase the value of the
work. "-Bsaptist Mieemorial.
B' Beautiful is the tribute which is paid to Mr. Broaddus in Dr. Jeter's brief sketch of his
life and labors, extending through some sixty pages of the volume before us. We found
ourselves enchained by it to the last moment, and we cannot but thank Dr. J. for the charming picture —we have no doubt truthful-which he has drawn.-The remainder contains
termons, sketches of sermons, essays, and newspaper articles, with a few poems, which proceeded from his pen. The spirit which they breathe is the spirit of Christ; the style in
which they are written is simple, clear, and chaste, and his views on every subject are
marked by uniform sobriety, good sense, and love of truth. The volume is very handsomely printed, and is embellished with a portrait, which seems to us in excellent keeping with
ihe character of the subject.'-atlchlman and  jlector.
$TODDARD'S COMPLETE READY RECKONER, adapted to the wants
of Farmers, Merchants, Machanics, Lumber Dealers, Boat Builders, Stock Companies,
Bankers, &c., &c.  Containing a produce and merchandise Reckoner, a monthly and
weekly table for Farmers, Merchants,,Mechanics, &c., board by the week, board measure,
timber reduced to inch board measure, log measure, plank measure, timber measure,
bark and wood measure, value of wood and bark per cord, value of articles sold by the
pound and ounce, and an InterestReckoner as 6 and 7 per cents., by Prof. JoHns F. STODDARD,
Author of the Juvenile Mental, American Intellectual, Practical, and Philosophical
Arithmetics.. L4mo. 395 pp. Tuck covers for carrying in the pocket. Price $1. The
regular sale of this book is quite large and constantly increasing.
While preparing this Work, I was aware that it was almost impossible to make a set
of Tables that would under all circumstances enable a man to transact business with
out recourse to mathematical operations, consequently it was not prepared with a view of
rendering a knowledge of Practical Mathematics unimportant to the man who has a copy
of it in his possession, but for the purpose of assisting him in the transaction of business
by placing it in his power to dispose of double the amount of business in the same timer
with greater ease, and without being liable to fall into the errors which unavoidably attern
hurried miscellaneous calculations. These  Tables are the results of much labor, and it ik
believed that implicit confidence can be placed in their accuracy; and should they be tlue
means of aiding business men in the discharge of their arduous duties, by rendering tliellm
less tiresome and more pleasant, my object will be accomplished. An explanation of eatch
Table is given at the commencement of the Table.
STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY. An
historical survey of controversies pertaining to the rights of conscience, from the English
Reformation to the settlement of New England. By EDWARD B. UNDERHILL, ESQ. With an
introduction by Sse2ell AS. Cu2.ingm. 1 vol. 12mo. 242 pp. Price 75 cents.




Books Published by Sheldon, Laimport 8 Bla7ceman.
lHOM(EOPATHIC PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. A book for the Fanlily.
By MARTIN FRnoGHs, M.D.. Embracing the history, diagnosis, and trieatment of diseases in
general; including those peculiar to females, and the managemen1, of children. 12mo.
Muslin, $1 50. 8vo, $2.
RElCOOmENoDATIONS FROM SE VERAL OF OUR MBOST DlSTINGUISHEOD PRACmONERS, S03IE OSF WHOM ARA
ALSO AUTHORS..lom n 1. cVanderburg, ML. D.
New Haven, Jan. 12th.
"I donbt not the history of medical science will record the influence of your work througi.
centuries to come."
Tih-oms AlJ;ed Freemean, f. P., 48 East N~ineteenth Street.
New York, Dec. 22, 1853.
"-Dr. M. Freligh, —I have examined vour volume on' The Homneopathic Practice of Afedicine,' with great pleasure and satisfaction.  It is well adapted to serve the three-fold purpose intended."
PFrome C. C. Kiersfed, li.D., 145 West Thirty —fourl7 Street.
" I regard it better adapted to the wants of the student than anyr other extant.  Almost
indispensable to the young practitioner, and better calculated for the laity, than any other
work with which I am acquainted."
PR ros G. Loriillard,.L D.
Rhinebeck, Dec. 15, 1853.
"Dr. Freligh has succeeded admirably in carrying out the design of his Homceopathic
Practice of Medicine. It is truly a text-book for the student,'a concise book of reference
for the -profession-' and by its simplicity, setting forth the various conditions of disease,
and the adaptation of the remedies, place it f.oreumost as a domestic guide."
i'eRone t.. Bar,:letf, f. P. a. irlem, Dee 10, 1853
" I regard'Ilomoeopathic Practice,' by Dr. M. Ireligh, as a' desideratum.' It is more
complete than any other similar work."
eFrom  t.cldsoen 2inslep, 2. D., 1111 Alnmity Sreet.
New York, Dec. 23. 1853.' Dr. Freligh.  Dear Sir,-I have examined your'Homceopathic Practice of 5Medicine'
with increasing pleasure, and I unhesitatingly pronounce it one of the very best guides,
now extant, for donmestic use."
Preom Geo. Beakley, IM. D., 35 Clintlon Place.
New York, Jan. 14, 1854.' It is a work that has beenlong needed by the profession, and in my opinion, adds much,
and strengthens a systemu which only demands that clear and enlig-htened view which you
have given to it, to disperse all the hasty conclusions and misunderstandings in referenee
to it."
Fr'eost SctZuec B. ilarlow, Al D). 222 Twvelfth [S''eeL.?New York, Jan. 17, 1854.
"' Dr. 51. Frelilghl. Dear Sir,-I gladly tender you my most hearty commendation of the
work. Its arrangeinent is excellent,:lnd there is a perspicuity in the indication of remledies,"
which is unequlaled in any work of thie kind with which I am acquainted.  I think it is
destined to an enllminent usefuslness in the hands of students and practitioners of the itomecopathic Art, as -well as to the lay-practitioner. I wish you success in the publicationl."
P-rovb C. Kiers'sed, A.! D., WTest YTirtyfoulrth,Sireet.
"' A careful examination of the System of' Homcoepathic Practice of.Medicine' by Dr. M.
Freligh, enables me to recomliend it as a -work far superior to any other extant; and the
accuracy of its description of diseases, and the concise adaptation of remedies, rmust recom
mend it, not only to the laity, but also to the regular practitioner."
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
Frontom the Btatlo Express. —'  It is intelligent and intelligible —teating every ailment with
precision, and entering into details that leave no room for questions or doubts. It traces
each disease from its first symptcois to the last stage; describes its various mutations. and
points out the exact remedy which it is necessary to apply, according to its cause and progress. We regard it as the very book that was wanted, and welcome it as a messenger of good.
Also T/e Walste7r ltepm2lican. —" This is doubtless the most perfect Yrork of the i i Tr.
issued."




Books Published by Sheldon, Lanmport 4  Blakemar.
THE SCRIPTURE TEXT-BOOK AND TREASURY; Forming a complete Index to the Doctrines, Duties, and Instructions of the Sacred Volume. 12muo. 75 c.
it is designed to afford assistance to Ministers, Sunday School Teachers. Tract Visitors,
Authors in the compositions of religious works, and individuals of all classes ill the study
of the Holy Scriptures. With fine Maps and Engravings. In two parts. The first part, or.Text-Book, relates to doctrines, duties, &c., forming a complete system of Theology. The
second part, or Treeaury, relates to history, geography, manners. customs, arts, &c., forming a complete Bible dictionray. Thirty thousand copies were sold in Great Britain in a few
months.' Upon the first glance at this book, it struck us as little more than a Concordance new
vamped. But on further examniation we found it to be a work prepared with great labor,
and adapted to great utility. And it is in our view eminently adapted to assist ministers,
teacters and parents in their workl; and indeed all who are desirous to enrich their minds
with the treasures of divine knowledge.
"It is hardly possible to conceive of an arrangement under which can be shown the
teachings of Scripture on a greater number ofsubjects."-New E7ngland Puritan.
i' It is somewhat on the plan of Gaston's collections, (for which it is a good substitute, )
but more compact and condensed. Ministers, Sunday School Teachers, and all students of
the Bible, will find it a very useful work.'"-Christian Advocate.' I To Bible readers in general, but especially ministers, it is next in worth to the Bible itself. — Christian 31essenger.
TRACES OF THE ROMAN AND MOOR; or Twice-Trodden Tracks
through Lombardy and the Spains. By A. BACcmLOR. I vol. 12mo. Muslin. Price $125
A NEW AND COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE PRONUNCIATION
AND READING OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE. Illustrated with analogous English
sounds. By NonrMAN W. CAmP, D. D. Price 50 cents.
LIFE  OF  BUNYAN.  By  Rev. IRA  CHASE.  12mo.  Cloth. 30 cents
ODD  FELLOW'S  MINISTREL.  Comprising  a variety of Odes to be
used on anniversary and other public occasions. Edited by PASCHAL DONALnSON..32mo.
Gilt edges. Price 25 cents.
IN  PRESS.
DR. OLSUAUSEN'S BIBLICAL COMMENTARY ON THEE NEW
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THE INDIAN  CAPTIVE.  By Rev. J. M. PECK.  18mo.   Nuslin, Illus.
trated. Price, 75 cents.




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J UVE N IL E.
KRlSS  KRINGLE'S  LIBRARY.   12 vols.; embellished  with several
hundred beautiful Engravings.  Consisting of-Rhymes and Pictures,-Short Stories in
Rhynme, —The Little Rhyme Book,-The Book of Jingles, —The Little Story Book, —Tho
Nursery Rllymes,-Fairy Rhymes,- Little Picture Book,- Birds of the Air.- Mother
Goose's Melodies,-Picture Riddler,-Book of Fables. Paper, plain, per set, S1 50; Paper,
colored plates, per set, $2 50; Cloth, plain, plates, per set, $3; Cloth, colored plates, per
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LITTLE FOLKS' LIBRARY.-The Rose,-The Lily,-The Violet, —The
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volume is beautifullv illustrated.
NTEW  JUVENILE  LIBRARY. 12 vols., 16mo., square; with from  30 to
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PARLEY'S COTTAGE  LIBRARY.  10 vols., 18mo.  Make the Best of
it,-Right is MIigt,-Persevere and Prosper, —What to do, and-how to do it,-Tales of
the Sea and Land,-A Home in'the Sea, —Wit bought,-The Truth Finder, —A Tale of the
Revolution,-Dick Boldhero. Mluslin, illustrated, $3 75. The same in full gilt, illuminated, French covers; making beautiful presentation-books. Price
SELECT  LIBRARY.  12 vols., 18mno. Muslin,-Gilt B3acks, Illuminated
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YOUTHS' PICTORIAL  LIBRARY.  12 vols., 32mo. with Plates;  consisting of Life of-Gen. Geo. 5Washington.-Zachary Taylor,-Winfield Scott,-WTilliam J.'Worth,-Francis Marion, —Isra el l'utnam,-Napoleon Bonaparte,-Jacob Brown,-Joseph
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THE  LJONDON  APPRENTICE.  An Authentic Narrative; with a Preface. By W. H. PEakRCE, Bissionary from Calcutta. 18mo. 30 cents.
This work is especially intended for the benefit of young persons, about to enter on, or
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adapted for usefulness to persons of every age, and in the most varied circumstances. I-t
exhibits in striking colors the unsatisfactory nature, and the bitter consequences, even in
this life, of what are falsely called "s the pleasures of youth.'~ Embellished with engravings.
" I should be glad if my notice of this little rwork should induce numbers of young men to
purchase and read it. "-Re. J. A. Jacns's " Young Ma.n fromn  lonoe."




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FACTS  FOR.BOYS. Selected and Arranged by JoTsEmr    BELCHER, D. D.
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FACTS:FOR  GIRLS. By the same Author, and uniform  with the above.
iSmo. 30 cente.
These are very entertaining and useful books for children —inculcating religious Truth by
interesting   Facts, Anecdotes, and Stories. it is just the kind of reading which children like.
EVERY DAY DUTY; or Sketches of Childish Character. 18mo. 30 cents.
The Author, in this book, in plain and simple language, enters into the sports and inci.
uents of childhood, and would show to children that they are always happiest when doing
rigsht. Uniforn wttis thte aZ'ore.
THE  GREAT  SECRET; or How to be iappy.  By Mis. E. C. JuDso0.
i8mo. Cloth.  410 cenis.
CiIARLES  LINN; or How  to Observe the Golden Rule.  By the sapme.
18mo. Cloth. 30 cents.
ALLEN  LUCAS;  The Self-made Man.   By the same.  18mo.  Cloth.
30 cents. AlU beautiful juveniles.
GAMBLING IN ITS INFANCY AND PROGRESS; or a Dissuasive
to the Young against Games of Chance. By C. H. GRE. 1 vol. 18mo. 155 pages.
Price 38 cents.
A good book for Sabbath-School Libraries.
HIOW TO BE GREAT, GOOD, AND HAPPY; consisting of ALLEN
LucAs, C aLE s LNN, and TEE GR-IAT SECRe. By MRs. EasLY C UBn3UCcr. Price 75 cents.
TAKE CARE OF NUMBER ONE; or the Adventures of Jacob Karl.
By  C. GOODRICH. 1 vol. 18mo. 192 pp. Price 30 cents.




Books Pqublished by Sheldon, L amport S  Blakeman.
i US 1C BOOKS.
THE   LADIES' GLEE   BOOK; A  Collection of choice and beautiful
GLEEs, for Three Female Voices, in English, French and Ilalian. Designed for the use of
Classes, School Exhibitions, and to add to the pleasures of the Home Circle. An extra
part is added, which may be sung by a baritone or tenor voice, when the third female
voice cannot be procured. Translated, adapted, arranged and composed, with an acco.
pniiment on the Piano Forte, by EENRY C. WATSON, Quarto, 112 pp. Price half-bound
$1 00, cloth $1 50.
I cordially recommend the work to my friends and the public.   W. V. WALLACE.
I v;ish the " Ladies' Glee Book " every success, feeling assured that its merits, its beauty,
and its usefulness, will cause-it to be generally used and extensi.-ely circulated.
MIAURICE  STRAKOSCH.
As soon as the "Ladies' Glee Book " is known, it will, in my opinion, find its way into
every drawing-room.                                         ieRS.  EDWARD LOIER.
I recommend the work to my friends with great pleasure.        MAX MiARETZEK.
I believe the c" Ladies' Glee Boolk " will be generally adopted in thle Ladies' Schools and
Institutes, and also in private circles.               E. WALLACE BOUCHELLE.
TIE MILLIONS' GLEE- BOOK, OR NEW YORK MELODEON;
Consisting of a choice selection of Glees, Quartettes, Duets, Songs and Ballads, many of
which have never before been published in this country. By I. 3. WOODBuR~v, author of
the " Dulcimer " and other IMusical WTorks. Price 50 cents.
THE NEW YORK NORMAL SCHOOL SONG BOOK, containing a
New Oratorio, founded on incidents of the American Revolution, with original words;
also, a great variety of Miscellaneous 3,Music, both Secular and Sacred, with new instructions, adapted to the use of PubsZic Schools, Siinglng Schools, and the Social Ci~'cle. By L.
A. BEENJcIanI and I. B. WOODBURv. Price 38 cents.
THE CRYSTAL PALACE AND FLORAL QUEEN: Containing a
New Oratorio of the Crystal Palace, or the Spirit of the World's Fair; also, a Grand Corcnation Festival, The Village Queen, and a variety of Mliscellaneous Music, Sacred and
Secular, adapted to Public Schools, the Concert-room, and the Social Circle. By L. A.
BE.NJAnIsc. Price 38 cents.
THE INSTRUMENTAL PRECEPTOR; Designed for the Violin, Bassviol, Flute, Clarionette, Bugle and Trombone, together with the greatest collection of
Martial Music now in modern practice, consisting of a;reat variety of Band ifeusic, Duets
and Waltzes, carefully selected and prepared, by WILLms L. BALES. Price 75 cents.
THE  SABBATH  SCHOOL   J:IINSTREL; A Choice Collection of Music
and HUIYrNs, by a Sabbath School Teacher. Price 75 cents per dozen.
This book has been exceedingly popular, over 100,000 copies having been sold. The
olleetion of Music and Hymns embraced in the following pages has been made with especial reference to the wants of the Sabbath School. Tile style of the music is simple and
devotional; and while it will gratify those somewhat advanced in the science, it may be
learned with facility by even the youngest scholar. Tile object has been to introduce as
large a number of appropriate Hymns as possible, varying in length and in measure, and
all adapted to the exercises of the Sabbath School, its anniversaries, celebrations, "c.
H




The attention of School Committees, Superintendents, Jriuclpals of Aeademlies, High Schools,
and Teachers, is.invited to the following valuable School Books, embracing some of the
best and most reliable in the United States.
NORIlAL SERIES OF SCHOOL -BOO KS
PUBLISHED  SY
SELDON,LAMPOIRT & BLAIEMAN,
115 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.
STODDARD'S ARITHMETICAL SERIES,
By JOHa- F. STODDARD, A. M1., President of the University of Northern Pennsylvania
COMPRISING
THE JUVENILE  MENTAL ARITHMETIC, 121 cents, 72 pp., for Primary Schools, to precede
THE AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL ARITHMETIC, 164 pp., an extended work, designed for Common Schools, Seminaries, and Academies, 20 cents.
STODDARD'S PRACTICAL  ARITI-IHMETIC, half-bound, which embraces
every variety of exercises appropriate to written Arithmetic, 40 cents.
STODDARD'S PHILOSOPHICAL ARITHIMETIC, a higher work for
Colleges and advanced Classes in Union Schools, Seminaries and Academnies, 60 cents..Q  This Arithmetic has neither Rules, Answers, nor Key.
The first two numbers of the series constitute a complete treatise on the subject of Mental or Analytic Arithmetic.
The last two are no less thorough in their treatment of Practical or Written Arithmetic.
The series, as a whole, by a truly progeessive arrangement and classification of examples,
including the various kinds and combinations in compound and complex ratios, or " Double
Position," original methods of compnuting interest discount and percentage in all their
variations, together with a variety of Algebraic exercises, is carefully designed to conduct
the learner fiom initiatory stf,ps, by an easy and gradually progressive system, to the moro
advanced attainments in Mathematical Science.
The arrangement of' The Philosophical Arithmetic,' without " Rules, Answers or Key,"
in which the examples are met with in the same manner as in practical business life, is
adapted to the use of advanced classes in all Schools where there is a desire to take an inde
pendent course, and prove the scholars master of the subject.
5o  Such a work has long been solicited by the most able and prominent Teachers
throughout the country.
A whole volume of the most exalted recommendations of this series of Arithmetics, from
the best Educators in all sections of the country, who have used them, can be shown. The
following will be sufficient for the present purpose.
A




Books Published by Sheldonr, Laimport 4'.Blkenme iz.
TESTI3MONTIALS FROM  THE STATE OF NEW  YORK.
NEW  YORK CITY SCHOOLS.
I have examined with much pleasure a work entitled'; Stoddard's American Intellectual
Arithmetic."  It closely resembles in the nature of the exercises Collburn's Mental Arithmetic, a work that has met with the unbounded approbation of the ablest teachers in the
country. I observe that Stoddard's contains many decided inlprovenlents on Colburn's: it
is more systematic in its arrangement, passing from what is easy, more gradually to what
is difficult; some very important omissions are supplied, and very considerable additions
in Interest, Discount, Percentage, etc. I see that it is also adapted to Federal Money.
It seems to me to be the best book on Intellectual Arithmetic now in use, and I hope for
the good of education it will be used in every school where Arithmetic is taught.
DAVID PATTERESON, lI. D.
Principal of Public School No. 3, and one of the Teachers of the Male Normal School.
NEW YORK, July 26, 1853.
Concurred in by
HENRY KIDDLE, Principal P. S. No. 2. P. D. DEmILT, Principal W. S. No. 34.
I. FANNING,              "       No. 13. N. P. BEERS,            "         No. 15.
C. W. FEEKS,             it      No. 4. E. McELROY,  No. 32.
A. MURPHY,               "       No. 17. SAML. ST. JOHN,         "         No. 26.
NEw YORrK, July 13, 1853.
After a careful examination of' Stoddard's Practical Arithmetic. " I have no hesitation in
pronouncing it a work of very superior merit. The brevity and clearness of its definitions
and rules, its lucid analysis of every operation, and the great variety of its examples comprising almost every possible combination of arithmetical principles, render it one of the best
books to discipline the mind of the scholar, in mathematical reasoning, I have ever seen.. IHENRY KIDDLE, Prin. P. S. No. 2.
I entirely concur with Mr. Kiddle in his opinion of "Stoddard's Practical Arithmetic."
H. FANNING,
July 15, 1853.                                                 Principal P. S. 13.
I also concur with Mr. Kiddle in his opinion of "Stoddard's Arithmetic."
DAVID PATTERSON, Prmin. P. S. 3.
I concur in the above.                                   GEO. MOORE, W. S. 10.
BROOKLYN SCHOOLS.
Having submitted " Stlddard's Intellectual Arithmetic" to the practical test of the school
room, we have no hesitation in expressing a strong preference for it over all Text-books on
the subject. The author has taken a decided step in advauce of' those who'have preceded
him; and his labors are likely to do much towards popularizing a study, the importance of
wihich as at mental discipline can hardly be over-estimated. The worls formerly in use were
deficient of systematic arrangement, were neither gradual enough in their transitions,
nor sufficientilr comprehensive and. varied as regards their examples. Stoddard's on the
other hand, is an eniinently practical book; philosophical in its arrangement, natural and
lucid in its analysis. original in its design, adapted at the commencement to the comprehension of beginner.; and carrying the pupil by easy inductive steps through the most com
plicated operations: it seems invulnerable to criticism, and leaves little or nothing to be
accomplished by future authors on this subject. The examples are numerous and varied,
embracing all cases likely to arise in business; and there are not less than fifty pages of
questions capable of Algebraic solution. The Chapters on Percentage, Interest and Discount,
are -worthy of special commendation. In these the author has an entirely original plan,
which enables the pupil to solve mentally, with perfect ease, questions which, without this
drilling, few are able to manage even on the slate.
In view of these striking and excellent features, we warmly commend Prof. Stoddard's
work to all who are interested irn the education of youth.
S. C. BARNES,  Principal P. S. No. 4. GEO. H. STEBBINS, PrincipalP. S. No. 12.
JOSIAH REEVE,' "               No. 8. F. D. CLARKE,            "         No. 3.
J. T. CONKLING,        " i       No. 5. CHAS. H. OLIVER,    "              No. 11.
DAVID SYME,            "         No. 6. PET'ER ROUGET,           "         No. 10.
A. B. CLARKE.;        No, 13. E. C. SEYMOUR,          "         No. 7.
B




.Books Pu6blished by Sheldon, Lamport' Blakemran.
WEBB'S SERIES OF NORMAL READERS.
NORMAL  PRIMER, Beautifully Illustrated, 12mo. 24 pp. Paper covers
5 cents, stiff covers 6 cents.
PRIMARY  LESSONS, a Series of Cards to be used in conbection with
No. 1. Price one dollar per set.
NORMAL  READER, No. 1. 12mo.  90 pp. 12'- cents.
NORMAL  READER, No. 2. 12mo. 168 pp. 25 cents.
NORMAL  READER, No. 3. 12mo. 216 pp. 371 cents.
NORMAL  READER, No. 4:; 12mo. 312 pp. 50 cents.
NORMAL  READER, No. 5. 12mo. 490 pp. 75 cents.
These Readers are used in the principal cities and villages throughout the United Statesg
and are rapidly coming into use in the smaller towns of the country. Their merits have
been fairly tested, and they have universally been pronounced superior to any series of Readers extant,. not only for the improvement in the system of teaching, which is the WORD
rETHuOD; but also in the high moral tone and inspiriting character of the pieces selected.
The author, ]fr. WEBB, was recently from the State Normal School, at Albany.
They are THE.sTrPractical Readers that have come under my notice; they are ALL and
sVERY Toi d'ithey should be.    HON. S. S. RANDALL, Depuiy Slaoe Sutp. CGrot. Schools.
Webb's Readers are the best books of their kind for our schools.
D. M. CA4.IFP, Ex-Goveser of Vermonot.
I am happy to command WVebb's Readers to the favorable regard of all Educators.
J. IR. BOYD, Author of Rhetoric, Mioisal Philosoephy, &c.
We have used I" Webb's Normal Readers," and believe them superior to any with which
we are acquainted, and would cheerfully recommend their general adoption to all of on
schools.             ROSMAN INGALLS and E. S. INGALLS. Teachers of Select School 
Having examined " Webb's Normal Readers," we believe them to possess many advan:
ges over any other series of Readers which has come under our notice, and would therefl:
recommend their introduction into the schools of Bin-hampton.                     i
A. D. STOCKWELL, A. 1W. JACKSON,  Truslees ofDistrict Xlo. 2,GEORGE PARK, R. S. BARTLETT, TruIstees of District 1~o. 1.
T. R. MORGAN, WSM. E. ABBOTT,'uzstees qfDistrict No. 4. s
Dear Sir-I have examined: Webb's Normal Readers," and consider the system superior
to any now in use.                        Respectfully yours,   H: G. PI-INLE,
Toasn Supt. Commson Schooas, elorwich.
Sir-I have examined, with considerable care' Wiebb's Series of Readers," and can cheerfully recommend them, as in my opinion, superior to any others with which I am acquainted.
Yours, &c.,        MARSENA STONiE. Pastor IBaslist ChLUsrcI, Morwich.
At a-meeting of the Town Superintendents of the County of Chenaugo, held in the village
cf Norwich, on the 16th of August, the following Resolution was adopted:
ResoexZed, That we consider the uniformity of text books a matter of infinite importance to
our common schools; and believing "  Webb's Normal Readers,"I to be superior in nmlny respects to any extant, for teaching the principles of reading and instilling sound moral principles in the mind of the scholars, we therefore recommend their general adoption in the
rchools of the county.
FlROI THE CITY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, UTICA, N. Y.
Dear Sir-Having somewhat carefully examined " Webb's Normal Readers," I have no
hesitation in saying I consider them to rank high among the best Practical Readers that
have come under-my notice. We have lately introduced two numbers into some on our
public schools of this city, which have thus far given good satisfaction.  D. S. HEFFRON.
C




Books Published by S/leldon,.Lanmport 4 Blake7iman.
GOODRaICH'S GEOGIRAPHIES.
THE  NEW  NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHY, with a Catechetical Introduction and Colored Maps. In the eiegance of its numerous illustrations, and the clearness
and beauty of the Maps, it is not excelled, if equaled, by any similar work. New Edition,
with the late Census. Price 50 cents.
A COM3PREHENSIVE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY, ANCIENT
AND MODERN. This work contains:272 qcuarto paoes, equal to 1000 commlon 12mo.
pages, and is Illuminated with Seventy-nine beautiful MIaps, and numnerous Engravings.
It is the most complete and comprehensive work for High Schools, Families, MIerchants,
Travelers, and Emigrants, that has ever appeared. Itcontains the Geography and HIistory of every Country. The work has received the highest commendations at the hands
of scientific men, in America and Europe, and is regarded as one of the most useful, convenient and valuable which the author has given to the public. Price $2 50 half-bound.
PRIMER  OF  GEOGRAPHY.  A new and elegant ILLUSTRATED " FIRST
Boorn  " in Geography. Price 20 cents.
PARLEY'S GEOGRAPHY FOR BEGINNERS. New Edition, with
Catechetical Introduction and Colored Miaps. Price 30 cents.
*.* Any number of tostimonials, from the highest sources, could be added, if thought
necessary.
-   This complete Serie. of Geographies, by S. G. GOODRICE, EsQ., is not surpassed, if
equaled, in beauty, interest, and cheapness, by any now published.
PFIRST  LESSONS  IN  GEOGRAPHFY.  3By GEORGE W. FrITC. Colorbd
MIaps. 40 pp. quarto, price 45 cents.
In this book tlhe learner's attention is mainly directed to one thing-the study of maps.
2rmbraces very little descriptive information. It is believed the definitions are sufilcientsxtensi-e for all, useful purposes, and as exact as is consistent with simplicity. The:hor has endeavored to embrace nothing which should not be studied and retained, and,thing which may not wLith reasonable effort be remembered. AVTitl the hope that it will
rove itself a useful manual in the school-room ansd at the fireside,the aslthor respectfully
s;ubmits it to the examination of teachers and parents.
FITCH'S  MAPPING  PLATES: Designed for Learners in GEoGRnaIi~,
being a collection of Plates prepared for Delineating MIaps of the World, and Countries
forming its principal subdivisions, viz:-I. The World. 2. United States. 3. RNorth America. 4. South America.. 5. A State. 6. 3Iexico and Cuatihala.. 7. Great Britain and
Ireland. 5. Europe. 9. Soutlcern Europe. 10. Germany. 11. Africa. 12. A-sia. 13.
Atlantic Ocean. 14. Pacific Ocan. Dy GEOrGE XW. Frr'Ce. Price 30 cents.'l'he attention of the public are respectfully called to tihe above Plates, and to the advaoltages they are calculated to afford in the study of Geograplly. They are prepared with the
suitable and requisite lines of latitude and longitude, for maps of the world, tnd the coulltlries forning its principal subdivisions, and are designed to be used in conntm tion writh tlhe
school atlases in commosn use, as well as wvi-th oiutline maps. With these Plates, the pupil
is able to commence, at once, the delineation of maps, without the dlifficult and perplexing
labor of drawirng the meridians and parallels-a labor which generally consumes the time
of both teacher and schol', to an extent entirely disproportionate to any good which may
be derived thereby.
D3




Books ~Published by Sheldon, Lamlport 4- Blakeman.
SP  E L L E P $S.
TflE  SPELLER  AND  DEFINER.  By E. HAIzE.s A. M. Price 20 cents.
SYMIBOLICAL  SPELLING  BOOK.  With 553 Cuts.  Price 20 cents.
"e             6"            "   *  Part 1st, 288 Cuts. Price 10 cents
"l              "s          ~'      Part 2d, 265 Cuts. Price 121 cents
MILES' UNITED  STATES  SPELLER, a new work, containing upwards
of fifteen thousand of the most common English Words. Price 13 cents.
Tile author of this work is an old PRACTICAL TEACHER; the arrangement and classification are original and strictly progressive; and in Orthography and Pronunciation, the
best STANDARD AUTHORS,.rlIUTE RS and SPEAKERS have been consulted.
These Spelling Books are designed to accompany Webb's Series of lTormal Readers.
LOOMIS' ELESMENTS OF ANATOMTY, PHYSIOLOGY AND HYGIENE. By P1'ROF. J. H. LoomIS; of Waterville College, Maine. Price 75 cents.
This is a new -work, beautifully ILLUSTRATED WITE COLORED PLATES, and many ORIGINoAx
DRAWINGS.
The author has been a practical instructor of this science for many years; but having
met with no Text Book of the kind which, in his judgment, was completely adapted to the
use of classes, he has prepared a small volume of about 200 pages, that can be gone thoroughly through in one term of three months, a deside~aezln, in which he has presented in a most
lucid, concise and comprehensible manner, the entire subject, as far as it is practicable to
be taught in Common Schools, Seminaries or Colleges.
This treatise is already introduced in some of the best schools and academies, in NTew York
and Ohio, and is rapidly gaining popularity.
PHELPS'S LECTURES ON PHILOSOPHY AND CHEMISTRY,
Each 300 pp. 12mo. Are highly esteemed, and used extensively. Price 75 cents
CHEMISTRY AND PHILOSOPHY FOR BEGINNERS. By Mets. A.
LINCOLN PELPS. Each 218 po. 18mo. Price 50 cents.
These admirable books, by the distinguished authoress of " Lincoln's Botany,' are unquestionably among the very best works of their kind. The great elementary truths which
are the basis of these most interesting departments of study, are presented with such direct
ness, clearness, and force, that the learner is compelled to perceive and apprehend them;
at the same time he is attracted, charmed, and indelibly impressed with that indescribable
felicity of language, which none but an accomplished lady or mother can ever address to d?r
lighted and instructed youth. To be approved and adopted, these books need only to be
universally known. Though but recently published, their circulation, already extensive, is
rapidly increasing.