Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va) 1886-1890, 1890-03-18
TREATMENT OF PARENTS.
DR.. TALMAeE breaches A SERMON
ON A PROLIFIC SUBJECT.

DR.. TALMAGE breaches A SERMON
ON A PROLIFIC SUBJECT.
The Young Owe AS Much Consideration
to the Aged as the Aged DO to the
Young Good Advice for Youth and
Maiden.
BROOKLYN, March 16.-The follow
ing sermon was preached this morn
ing by DR.. Talmage in the Academy
of Music, in which his church Is wor-
slipping during the rebuilding OF the
BROOKLYN Tabernacle, and which will
continue to be so occupied until that
edifice is completed After exponnd-
Ing chapter dcscrihing Absalom $
carriage toward his father David, and
the singing of an appropriate hymn,
DIR. Talmage announced rs hiS text iiie
words, "A foolish son is the hcavineSs
of his mother'-Prov. X, l. lie said:
All parents want their children TO
turn out well. However poorly father
and mother may nave done them-
selves, they want theirsons aud daugh-
tiers to do splcndidly. Up 10 forty
wears of age parents may have ambl-
lions for themselves, 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
a parental delight was Solomon to
David, and Samuel 10 Hannah, and
Joseph to Jacob! Aud the best earthly
staff that father has 10 lean ON Is Il
GOOD one, and the strongest arm q
mother has to help her down the steep
of years is tina, OF grateful child.
But It is not rare thing to find people
unfilial. and often the parents are
themselves to blame. Aged persons
sometimes become QueYUlous and
snappv. and the children have their
hands full with the old folks.
Before entering my profession | was
for three months what is called a col
portcur. One day in the country dis
tricts stopped nj the house of 4 good,
intelligent. genial farmer. The hos
pitalitv of such 4 country house is IS
pecialiy pleasing TO me, for | was born
in the country. This farmer aud his
wife were hard working people, but
tried to make their home agreeable
and attractive. The farmers father,
about sixty-tivc years Of agc, and ms
grandfather, about ninety, were yet
alive and with him. Indeed, there
were four generations in the house,
for the farmer had litt!c children play
ing 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 comteously passed 1t TO me. when
his father OF siXty-tive years cried ou'
to his son, who WAS at least thirty
years of age: why do You not pass
the meat rs You always DO, and let us
take it off the plate ourselves? youart
/ irving 10 show off because we have
company" Meanwhile his GRANDPA
I Their of ninety sat with his hat on q
the table, his face unclean. and hl-
/ apparel untidy. Still The farmer kept
I his patience and equipoSc, and l never
think OF him without admiration. lil
must have had more grace than ever
had
Because people are old they have nc
right 10 be either overwhelmingly OF
uncannv. There are Old people Sc
disacreeablc that they lave nearly
broken up some homes. The young
married man with whom the aged one
lives stands it because lie has been
used 10 It all his life, but the young
wife, coming in from another house,
hold, can hardly endure il, and some.
times almost cries her eyes out. And
when little children gather in the
house they are afraid OF the venerable
patriarch, who has forgotten that he
ever was a child himself and cannot
understand why children should eve!
want to play hide and seek. or roll
| hoop, or fly kite, and he becomes inn
patient at the sound from the nursery,
and shouts with an expenditure OF
voice that keeps him coughing fifteen
minutes afterwards, Boys. stop that
racket" as though any boy that ever
amounted 10 anything in the world
did not begin by making a racket.
Indeed, there are children who owe
nothing to their parents, for those
parents have been protligates. Ny Ia,
mented friend. good and Christian and
lovely Henry Wilson, vice president
OF the United States, III early life
changed his name. Henry Wilson was
not lis original name. He dropped
his fathers name because that father
was drunkartl and a disgrace. aud
the son did not feel called upon 10
carry such a carcass all his life. While
children must always be duUfal, l
sympathize with al young people who
have disagreeable or unprincip!ed old
folks around the house. Some OF us,
drawing out of our memories, know
that it is possible, after sixty or seventy
or eighty or ninety years OF age. for
the old to be kind and genial; and the
grandest adornment Of home IS an
aged father and an aged mother, if the
process of years has mellowed them.
Besides that, if your old parents are
hard to get along with now. you must
remember thel time when they
had hard worl; TO s., long with you.
When YOU were about five orscven or
ten or twelve years of age what a time
they had with you If they had kept
written account of your early pranks
aud miSdoings, it would make q whole
volume. That time when you gave
your little sister clip; that time when
you explored the depth OF a jar Of
sweet things for which YOU had no
permission; that havoc you one day
made with your jacl; knife; thatpluc!l-
ing from the orchard of unripe fruit;
that day when, instead of being at
school, as your parents supposed, you
went a-fshing; and many Il time did
you imperil your young life in places
where you had no business to climb
or swim or venture. To get you
through your first fifteen years with
your life and your good morals was a
fearful draft upon parental fidelity and