Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-04-24
YOUR NAME.
Let Not One Stain Come Upon
Your Character.
A Foolish Son the Heaviness of His Par
ents- Remember the Mothers
Prayer and the Fathers Anx-
iety -Talmage's Ser
mon.


DR.. Talmage announced last Sunday
as his text the words, "a foolish SON is
the heaviness of his mother" Prov. K,
/. He said:
All parents want their children to
turn out well. However poorly father
and mother may have done themselves
they want their sons and daughters to
do splendidly. Up to forty years OF age
parents may have ambitions for them
selves; after that their chief ambitions
are for their children. Some of the old
time names indicate this. The name OF
Abner means ''his fathers lamp" The
name Abigail means 'her fathers joy"
And what parental delight was Solo
mon to David, and Samuel to Hannah,
and Joseph to Jacob! And the best
earthly staff tnat father has to lean on
is good son. and the strongest arm
mother has to help her down the steep
of years is that of grateful child. But
it is not rare thing to find people I'M
flial, and often the parents are them
selves to blame. Aged persons some
times become querulous and snappy,
and the children have their hands full
with the old folks. Before entering my
profession / was for three months what
is called a colporteur. One day
In the country districts l stopped
at the house of a good, intelli-
gent, genial farmer. The hos
pitality of such country house is es-
pecially pleasing to me, for / was born
in the country. This farmer and his
wife were Woodworking people, but tried
to make their home agreeable and at
tractive. The farmers father, about So
years Of age, and his grandfather, about
90 were yet alive and with him. Indeed,
there were four generations in the
house, for the farmer had little children
playing about the room. We gathered
at the dining-room table. After the
blessing was asked tho farmer put some
| OF the meat upon his plate and court
eously passed it to me, when his father
of 65 years of age cried out to his son,
who was at least 80 years of age: why
do you not pass the meat as you always
do, and let us take it off of the plate
ourselves? You are trying to show oil
because we have company" Meanwhile
his grandfather of 80 sat with his hat
on at the table, his face unclean, and
his apparel untidy. Still the farmer
kept his patience and equipoise, and l
never think of him without admiration.
He must have had more grace than
ever had
| Because people are old they have no
right to be either ungentlemanly or UNI
canny. There are old people SO disa-
greeable 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 1T
all his life. but the young wife, coming
in from another household, can hardly
endure 1t. 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
parents have been prohigates. My la
mented friend. good and Christian and
lovely Henry Wilson, Vice-President OF
the United States, in early life changed
his name. Henry Wilson was not his
original name. He dropped his fathers
name because that father was drunk
ard and a disgrace, and the son did NOT
feel called upon to carry such carcass
all his life. While children must always
be dutiful, l sympathize with all young
people who have disagreeable or un'
principled old folks around the house.
Some of us drawing out of our memories
know that IL is possible, after go or 40 OF
so or 90 years Of age, for the old to be
kind and genial, and the grandest adorn
ment of a home is an aged father and an
aged mother, if the process OF years has
mellowed them. Besides that, If YOU
old parents are hard to get along
with now. you must remember there
was time when they had tC
work to get along with you. Wher
you were about or or 10 or IL years
of age what time they had with you
If they had kept a written account O
your early pranks and misdoings, Il
would make whole volume. That time
when you gave your little sister a clip
that time when you explored the deptf
of jar of sweet things for which yo'
had no permission; that havoc you on'
day madeswith your jack knife; tina
plucking from the orchard of unrip'
fruit: that day when, instead of being a
school as your parents supposed yo'
went a-fshing; and many time die
you imperil your young life In places
where YOU had no business to climb o
swim or venture. To get you through
your first fifteen years with your life an'
your morals good was fearful draf
upon parental fidelity and endurance
Indeed, it may be that much OF thu
L.