The Nicodemus cyclone. [volume] (Nicodemus, Graham County, Kan.) 1887-1888, 1888-09-07
TALMAGE In DIXIE.
a LIFE-LIKB PORTRAIT OBTAINED
The Elder Son Of the Parable at Last
Focused BY the Eminent Divine,

Life-Lke Description Of the Con+rae+ D :
tween the Sons.
Special to The Kansas city Times:
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, August l2.-The Rcv
T. Dewitt Talmage d. d., Of BROOKLYN i =,
this region. He has spoken several ti,noo .,
the great Piedmont Chautauqua, and his nph.
lie appearances are attended by vast mnIti-
tudes everywhere. Preaching from the tev,
duke Oh Ky. Y. 2S.) ''And he was angry and
would not go in,' lie said:
rs the elder son Of the parable SO unsympa-
thetic and SO cold that he Is not worthy ~
recognition" The fact Is that we ministers
pursue the younger son. You can hear the
fanping Of his rags in many a sermon,c
breeze, and the branching Of the pods for
which he was an unsuccessful contestant 7
confess that for long time | was unable IN
train the camera Obscura upOn the elder son IF
the parable. ] never could get NEGATIVE for
photograph. There was not enough LIGHT in
the gallery, or the chemicals were poor. or the
sitter moved in the picture. But now thinl,
have him. Not sidc-face, or a three omar
tiers, or the mere bust. but a full-length nor.
trait as he appears to me. The father in the
parable Of tbs prodigal had nothing to brag of
in his two sons. The one was rake and the
other churl. find nothing admirable in
the dissOluteness Of the one, and find moth
Ing attractive in the acrd sobriety of the
other. The one goes down over the Iarboard
side, and the other down over the starboard
side; but they both 20 down.
From the window Of the old homestead
bursts the minstrelsy. The floor qualzes with
the feet Of the rustics, whose dance ia
always vigorous and resounding. The
nelghbors have heard Of the return Of the
younger son from his wanderings, and
they have gathered together The house ts
fut Of congratulations. ! suppose the tables
are loaded with Injuries Not only the one
kind of meat mentioned, but it's conc0nitants
%'Clap!' 60 the cymbals. "thrumP' 90 the
harps, 'cllckp' 90 the chalices, up and down
go the feet inside, while outside is q most
sorry spectacle
Tie senior son stands at The corner of the
house frigid Dhlcgmatic. He has lust come
10 from the fields in very substantial apparel.
Seeing some wild exhilaratlOns around the
old mansion, he asks Of a servant passing bv
with goat skin Of wine Oh his shoulder what
all the fuss is about One would have
thought that on hearing that his younger
brother Lad got back, he would hive gone
into the house and reioiced and If I've were
not conscientiously opposed to dancing that
lie would have joined in the Oriental schot-
tlsche. No. There he stands. His brow
lowers His lip curls with contempt He
stamps the ground with INDIGNATION. He
the feast coming out on the mir do not sharpen
hs appetite. The lively music does not put
any spring into his step. lie is in terrible
pout lie crItlctses the expense, the inius-
lice, and the morals Of the entertainment.
The father rushes out bareheaded, and coaxes
him to come In. He Will not 20 in. He scolds
The father. lie goes into d pasquinadc
against the younger brother, and be makes
the most uncomely scene. He says, Father
you put premium on VagabOndi3m I STAYED
home and a. VI,
made party for me; you didn't SO much as
xii Kid; that wouldn't have cost half as
much as calf; but the scapegrace went off
IN fine clothes, and he comes back not fit to be
seen, and what time you make over him.
no breaks your heart and YOU nav him
for It, That calf to which we have been civ.
ing extra feed during all these weeks
wouldn't be SO fat and sleek If | had known
to what use you were going to put it'll That
VagabOnd deserves to be COW -hided instead of
banquetcd. Veal is too good for himp' That
evening, while the younger son sat telling his
father about his adventures, and asking
about what had occurred on the place since
MS departure, the senior brother goes to bed
disgusted, and slams the door after him. That
senior brother still lives. You can see him
any Sunday, any day Of the week. At a
meeting OF ministers in Germany some one
asked the question, ''WhO is that elder son 2''
and Krummacher answered, II know him; |
saw him yesterday" And when they insisted
upon knowing whom ho meant, he said,
Myself; Then saw the account OF the con-
version OF most obnoxious man, | was
lTltated"
First, this senior brother of the text stands
Tor the clf-cOngratuatOry, self-satisfed,
selfwOrShippful man. With the same breath
III which he vtuperates against his Younger
Drothtr he utters q panegYric for himself.
The Self-righteOuS man of my text, like every
other self righteous man, was full Of faults.
lie was an migrate, for he did not appreciate
fhn how III
years lie was dlsObedient for when the
lather told him to come in he stayed out lie
was q liar, for he said that the recIeant son
nad deyoured his fathers living, when the
iather, SO far from being reduced to penury,
had homestead left, had instruments Of
music had jewels, HAD mansion, and in
stead Of being pauper was q prince. This
senior brother, with SO many faults of his
OWn was mercilcss in his criticism of the
younger brother. The only perfect people
anat l nave ever knCwl were utterly
obnoxious. was never 81 badly cheated
IN all my life as by perfect ma1.
lie cot SO far up In his devOtons that lie was
clear up above all the rules of common
honesty. These men that 20 about providing
among prayel-meetings, and in places of
business, telling how good they are-look out
LOT them; Keep your hand on your pocket
book! have noticed that just in proportion
Is man gets good he gets humble. The
mississippi does not make as much noise as
the DrawllnE mountain rivulet. There has
heen many o store that had more goods
ID the shOw-wlndow than inside on the
shelves
This sclf-righteous man Of the text stool
AZ me corner Of the house hugging himself
IN admiration. We hear great deal in our
day about the higher life. Now, there are
Two kinds Of hghcr-ife men. The one are
admirable, and the other are most rcpulsive.
Inc one kind Of higher-life man Is very
ienlent In his criticism Of others, does not
pore prayer meetings to death with long
harangues, does not talk great deal about
himself but much about Christ and heaven,
gets kindlier and more gentle and more use
Iul until one day his soul spreads wing
ana ne lies away to eternal rest, and every
,oolY mourns his departure. The other
higher-ltfe man goes around with Bible
Consplcuously under his arm, goes from
cnurch to church, sort of general cvanGel-
ISL, Is nuisance TO his own pastor when he
u az home, aud nuisance TO other pastors
WEen be Is away from home; runs Up 70 some
man who Is counting out roll Of bank bills
or running I'D difficult line OF figures, and
asks him how his soul is; makes religion 81
oose OF fpecacuanha; standing in religious
meeting making an address, he has
a patrontzlng way, as though ordinary
christians were clear away down below
Nm, SO he had to talk az the top or his
voice In order to make them hear, but az the
- FIa&