Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-17
MOTHERS TRIALS.
Ghe Sorrows Young People Needless
ly Cause Their Parents,
FARNISHING THE FAMILY NAME.
DR.. Talmage Points Out How the Recollec.
tionS of Childhood
MAY LEAD THE WAY TO HOLINESS
ESPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH. ]

BROOKLYN, March 16-The following
sermon was preached this morning by DR..
Talmage in the Academy of Music, in which
his church is worsniping during the re-
building of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and
which will continue to be so occupied until
that ediice is completed. After expounding
a chapter describing Abs&lom's carriage to-
ward his father, David and the singing OF
an appropriate hymn, DR.. Talmage an
nounced as his text the words, "a foolish
son is the heavinesS of his mother" Prov.
10:1. 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 4Oyears
of age parents may have ambitions for them
selves, after that their chief ambitions are Tor
their children. Some of the old-time names in
dicate this. The name of Abner means his
fathers lamp" The name Abigail means her
fathers Joy" And what parental delight
was solomon to David, and Samuel to Hannah.
and Joseph to jacob And the best earthly
staff that father has to lean on is good son.
and the strongest arm mother has to helD her
down the steep of years is that of grateful
child But it is not rare thing to find people un-
iilial, and often the parents are themselves TO
blame Aged persons sometimes become
querulous and Snappy, and the children have
their hands full with the old folks. Before
tering my profession l was for three months
what is called a colporteur One day in the
country districts l stopped at the house of
good. intelligent, genial farmer. The hospital
ity of such 4 country house is especially pleas
ing to me. for ! was born in the country. This
farmer and his wife were hardworking people.
but tried to make their home agreeable and at
tractive The farmers father, about IS years
of age and his grandfather, about so, were vet
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 table.
SHOWING OFF BEFORE COMPANY.
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 Is 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 OF the plate
ourselves? You are trying to show off because
we have company" Meanwhile his grand
father of 80 sat with his hat 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 that / ever had.
Because people are old they have no right to
be either ungentlemanly or uncanny. There
are old people so dIsagreeable 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
forgotten that he ever was child himself, and
canuot 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 eXpend-
iture OF voice that keeps him coughing 10 min
utes afterward "Boysi stop that racket as
though any boy that ever amounted to any,
thing in the world did not begin life by making
a racket
Indeed, there are children who owe nothing to
their parents for those parents have been profit
gates. Mylamented 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 drunkard and a disgrace. and
the son did not feel called upon to carry such
carcass all his life.
THE TRIALS OF PARENTS.
While children must always be dutiful,
sympathize with all young people who have
disagreeable or unprincipled old folks around
the house. Some of us, drawing out of our
memories, know that it is possible, after 60 or
20 so or 80 years of age, for the old to be kind
and genial; and the Crandest adornment of a
home is an aged father and an aged mother. if
the process of years has mellowed them. Be-
side that if your old parents are hard to get
was a time when they had hard work to
get along with you. When you were about 5
or or 10 or Il years of age what time they
had with you If they had kept a written
account Of your early pranks and misd0ings, 1t
would make 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 jackEGife:
that pluclling from the orchard Of unripe fruit;
da W a
your parents supposed, you went fishing; and
many 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 Is years with
your life and your good morals was fearful
draft upon parental fidelity and endurance. In
deed it may be that much of this present phys
Ical and mental weakness in your parents NAV
have been result of your early Waywardness !
You made such large and sudden drafts upon |
the bank of their patience that you broke the |
bank. They were Injured in being thrown while |
trying to break the colt. 1t is matter of only I
common honesty that you pay back to them !
some of the long-sutfering which they paid to |
you. A father said to his son. surely no father
ever had as bad boy as have" Yes" said |
the son. my grandfather had 1t is about the |
same from generation to generation, and pa |
rents need to be patient with children, and chill
dren dutiful to their parents Taking it for |
granted that those who hear me to-day have |
had good parentage, want 10 urge upon all |
the young the fact that the happiness and Ion 1
gevity of parents much depend upon the right |
behavior of their children, and can do this no |
more effectually than by demonstrating the |
truth of my text, "a foolish son is the heavi- |
ness of his mother"
THE BREAD HIS MOTHER MADE.
Perhaps some young man astray may be |
brought back by thought of how they feel |
about him at home. A French soldier lay |
wounded and dying in the hospital at Geneva, !
Switzerland. His father, at home, 20 years OF |
age. heard Of his sons suffering. and started,
and took the long journey and found the hos |
pital; and as he entered the son cried: 20, |
father, / am glad you have come to see me |
die" NO" SAID the father, "you are not |
going to die; your mother is waiting for you,
and l am going to take you home 1 have |
brought you money and everything you need.n |
NO" said the soldier, "they give me here
everything that is nice to eat, but have no
appetite and 1 must die.' Then the father
took from his knapsack a loaf of rye /
bread, such as the plain people of |
his country ate, and said: Here, is
and am sure you can eat this: she sent it to
you" Then the soldier frightened mp. and /
took the bread and ate it, and SAID, ut is SO |
good, the bread from home, the bread that my
mother NADER No wonder that IN few days
he had recovered. o young man, wounded in
the battle of life, and discouraged, given UP ny
yourself, and given up by others, the old folks
at the country tireSide have not given you up
bring YOU bread from home. 1t may be PLAIN
bread, but it is that bread of which if man
eat he never again shall hunger. Bread from
homel Bread from home!
Carrying out the idea of my text, I remark
that reckless or dIssipated son makes a
heavy-hearted parent. because IL hurts the
family pride 1t is not the given name, the
name which you received at the christening,
that is injured by your prodigality. You cannot
hurt your name of John, or George, or Henry
or Frances, or Rachel, because there have been
of people, good and bad, having
those names, and you cannot improve or de-
preciate the respectablIty of those given