The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-13
TALMAGE IN GEORGIA.
THE ELDER BROTHER OF THE PROD
IGAL SON SHOWN UP.

Though the Returned Youngster Was
q Rake the Elder Was Churl-The
self-Righteous Man of Everyday Life
a Gooe One to Keep an Eye On.
ATLANTA, GA, Aug 12.--The Rev. T.
Dewitt Talmage D. D., of Brooklyn, is in
this region. He has spoken several times
at the great Piedmont Chautauqua, and
his public appearances are attended by vast
multitudeS everywhere. Preaching from
the text luke XIV. 2S) "And he
was angry, and would not go in" he said;
''Is the elder son of the parable so un-
sympathetic and so cold that he is not
worthy of recognitionp The fact is that
We ministers pursue the younger son. You
can hear the Tapping of his rags in many
sermonic breeze, and the branching of the
pods for which he was an unsuccessful con-
teStant. / confess that for long time |
was unable to train the camera obscura
upon the elder son of the parable. never
could get a 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 / think |
have him. Not a side-face, or a three
quarters, or the mere bust, but full
length portrait as he appears to me. The
father in the parable Of the prodigal had
nothing to brag of in his two sons Tho
one was a rake and the other a churl l fad
nothing admirable in the dissoluteuess of
the one, and find nothing attractive in the
acrid Sobriety of the other. The one goes
down over the larboard side and the other
goes down over the starboard side; but they
both go down.
From the window Of the old homestead
bursts the minstrelsy. The floor quakes
with the feet of the rustics, whose dance is
always vigorous and resounding. The
neighbors have heard of the return of the
younger son from his wanderings, and they
have gathered together. The house is full
of congratulators. suppose the tables are
loaded with luxuries. Not only the one
kind of meat mentioned but its concomi-
tants. "Clapp go the cymbals, ''thrum ln
go the harps, "clickr' go the chalices, up
and down go the feet inside. while outside
is most sorry spectacle.
The senior son stands at the corner of the
house, frigid phlegmatlc. He has Just
come in from the fields in very substantial
apparel. Seeing some wild exhilarations
around the old mansion, he asks of a serv-
ant passing by with a goat-skip Of wine on
his shoulder what all the fuss is about.
One would have thought that, on hearing
that his younger brot"e or had got back, he
would have gone into the house and re-
joiced, and If he were not conscientiously
opposed to dancing, that he would have
joined In the oriental schottische. No
There he stands. His brow lowers His
lip curls with contempt. He stamps the
ground with indignation. He sees nothing
at all to attract. The odors of the feast
coming out on the air do not sharpen his
appetite. The lively music does
not not put any spring into hi bis Is
pout. He criticises the expense, the injus-
tice and the morals of the entertainment
The father rushes out bareheaded and coaxes
him to come in. He will not go in. He
scolds the father. He goes into a pasquinade
against the younger brother, and he makes
the most uncomely scene. He says: Father,
you put a premium on vagabondism. |
stayed at home and worked on the farm
You never made party for me; you didn't
so much as kill kid; that wouldn't have
cost half as much as calf; but the scape-
grace went OFF in fine clothes, and he
comes back not fit to be seen, and
what a time you make over him!
He breaks your heart, and you pay him
for it. That calf to which we have been
giving 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 cOwhidsd instead
of banqueted. Veal is too good for him p
That evening, while the younger son sat
telling his father about his adventures, and
asking about what had occurred on the
place since his 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 meeting Of ministers in
Germany some one asked the question,
'Who is that elder sonf and krummacher
answered, II know him; saw him yester-
day" And when they insisted upon know
ing whom he meant, he said, "Myself
when saw the account of the conversion
of a most obnoxious man, was irritated. ~
First, this senior brother of the text
stands for the self -congratulatory, self
satisfied, seIf-worshipful man. With the
same breath in which he vituperates
against his younger brother be utters a
panegyric for himself. The self-righteous man
of my text, like every other self-righteous
man, was full of faults. He was an migrate.
for he did not appreciate the home bless
ings which he had all those years. He was
disobedient, for when the father told him
to come in he stayed out. He was a her,
for he said that the recreant son had de-
voured his fathers living, when the father,
so far from being reduced to penury, had q
homestead left, had instruments of music.
had jewels, had a mansion, and instead of
being pauper was prince This senior
brother, with so many faults of his own
was merciless in his criticism of tho
younger brother. The only perfect people
that / have ever known were ut
terly obnoxious. / was never so badly
cheated in all my life as by perfect man.
He got so far up in his devotions that he
was clear up above all the rules Of common
honesty. These men that go about prowl-
ing among prayer meetings, and in places
of business, telling how good they are-look
outfor them; keep your hand on your pocket
book / have noticed that just in proper
ton as a man gets good he gets humb e.
The deep Mississippi does not make as much
noise as the brawling mountain rivulets.
There has been many u store that had more
goods in tho show-window than inside on
the shelves.
This self-righteous man Of the toxt stood
at the corner of the house hugglng himself
in admiration. We hear n great deal in
our day about the higher life. Now, there
are two kinds of higher-life men. The
one are admirable, and tue other arc most
repulsive. The one kind of higher
life man Is very lenient In his
criticism of others, does not bore prayer
meetings to death with long harangues,
does not talk a great deal about him
self but much about Christ and heaven,
gets kindlier and more gentle and more
useful until one day his soul spreads
wing and he flies away TO eternal rest, aud
everybody mourns his departure. The
other higher-llfe man goes around with
Ribla oonsnicuouelv undar hfa arpn sroaa