The Brookhaven leader., 1890-03-27
FILIAL PIETY.
rbe Duty and Respect Due ffom
Children to Parents.
s.,mon by Rev. t. Dewitt Talmsge on
the subject of Filial Piety-The
Cares and Anxieties of Pa
rental Life.

Tho following sermon by Rev. I. De-
v;,t Talmape was delivered in the
BROOKLYN Academy of Music on a recent
sabbath. his text being:
Abolish son is the heavin ess OF his moth
er.-Prov. Y. /.
He said: All parents want their
,hi1dren to turn out we'll. However
noorlv father and mother may have done
themselves. they want their sons and
daughters to do splendidly. Up to forty
vcars of age parents may have ambitions
sor themselves; after that their chief
au,bitions are for their children. Some
~ the old-time names indicate this.
Tho name of Abner means "his fathers
lomn," The name Abigail means "her
fatber's ioy." And what parental de-
licbt was solomon to David, and Samuel
70 Hannah. and Joseph to Jacob! And
tbo hest earthly staff that a father has
70 lean on is a good son, and the strong
est arm mother has to help her down
the steep of years is that Of grateful
child. But it is not rare thing to lind
rcople uniilial, and often the parents
are themselves to blame. Aged per-
sons sometimes become querulous and
snappv. and the children have their
hands full with the old folks. Before
entering my profession / was for three
months what is called colporteur. One
day in the country districts / stopped
at the house of good, intelligent,
genial farmer The hospitality of such
a country house is especially pleasing
TO me. for | was born in the country.
This farmer and his wife were hard
working people, but tried to make their
home agreeable and attractive. The
farmers father, about sixty-five years of
age and his grandfather, about ninety,
were vet alive and with him. Indeed,
there we're four generations in the
house. for the farmer had little children
playing about the room. We gathered
at the dining table. After the blessing
was asked the farmer put some OF the
meat upon his plate and courteously
passed it to me, when his father of six
ty-fve years of age cried out to his son,
who was at least thirty: "Why do you
not pass the meat as you al ways do, and
let US tax e it off the plate ourselves?
You are trying to show off because we
have company" Meanwhile his grand
father of ninety sat with his hat on the
table, his face unclean and his apparel
untidy. Still the farmer kept his pa
tience and equipoise, and l never think
of7him without admiration. ne must
have had more grace than ever had.
Because people are old they have no
right to be either ungentlemanly or un-
canny There are old people so dis
agreeable that they have nearly broken
up some homes. The young married
man with whom the aged one lives
stands it because he has been used to it
all his life, but the young wife, coming
in from another household, can hardly
endure it, and sometimes almost cries
her eyes out. And when little children
gather in the house, they are afraid OF
the venerable patriarch, who has for
gotten that he ever was child himself,
and can not understand why children
should ever want to play "hide and
SEEK" or roll hoop, or fly kite, and he
becomes impatient at the sound from
the nursery, and shouts with an ex-
penditure of voice that keeps him
coughing fifteen minutes afterward:
boys! stop that racket" as though
any boy that ever amounted to any
thing in the world did not begin life by
making racket.
Indeed, there are children who owe
nothing to their parents, for those par
ents have been profiigates. My lament
ed friend, good and Christian and love-
ly Henry Wilson, Vice President of the
United States, in early life changed his
name. Henry Wilson was not his orig
inal name. He dropped his fathers
name because that father was drunk
ard and disgrace, and the son did not
feel called upon to carry such carcass
all his life. While children must al
ways be dutiful, I sympathize with all
young people who have disagreeable or
nnprincipled old folks around the
house. Some of us, drawing out of our
memories, know that it is possible,
ater sixty, or seventy or eighty or
ninety years of age, for the old to be
kind and genial; and the grandest
adornment of a home is an. aged father
anu aged mother, If the process of years
mas mellowed them. Besides that, if
soar old parents are hard to get along
with now, you must remember there
was time when they had hard work to
se' along with you. When you were
@Oout hVe or seven or ten or twelve
!oarS OF age what q time they
.au with you! If they had kept a writ
~h account OF your early pranks and
misoolngs it would make whole vol
t,aS rlae That time when you gave your
"''le sister clip; that time when you
e@Apiored the depth of a jar of sweet
a.iigS lor which you had no permission;
aa' aavoc you one day made with your
..A-hnlie; that plucking from the or.
Snard ;a OF unripe fruit; that day when,
a.eaa ,ns OF being at school, as your par
Da'S supposed, you went a-fishing; and
G." ame did you imperil your young
IN places where you had no bust
"vsS 70 climb or swim or venture.
Oget you through your first fifteen
a's a. with yoar life and your good NOR.
s1o,,. was fearful draft upon parental
nv hsy and endurance. Indeed, it may
ana A. 'uat much of this present physical
M mental weakness in your parent:
wsy nave been result of your early
snss ss"@roness- You made such large and
tisO" ten drafts upon the bank of their pa
we.o .oe mat you broke the bank. The,
inr ~.e injured in being thrown while try
on1, s 70 break the colt. 1t is a matter O
10 10 common honesty that you pay bacl
~ hem some Of the long suffaring vvh;cl