The Iola register., 1891-07-31
Home Influences,

a
dusky. The Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage
preached at the beautiful place that day
to large multitude.
His subject was the Vacant Chair,
and his text. Samuel, XXX. is: Thou
shalt be missed because thy seat will be
empty"
Set on the table the cutlery and the
chased silverware of the palace, for
King Saul will give sta5e dinner TO-
day. A distinguished place is kent at
the table for his son-in-law. a celebrated
warrior David by name. The guests,
ieweIed and plumed. come in and take
their places. When people are invited
70 XII. ha . {. they are very apt
to 90. But before the covers are lifted
from the feast. Saul looks around and
finds a vacant seat at the table. He
saws within himself. perhaps audibly.
What does this mean? Where is my
son-in-taw? Where il David. the great
warrior? I invited him. | expected
him. What, 4 vacant chair at the
kings banquet" The fact was that
David, the warrior. had been seated for
the last time at his father-in-laws Ia
bic. The day before Jonathan had
coaxed David to 60 and occupy that
place at the table, saying to David in
The words of my text Thou shalt be
missed, because thy seat will be empty.
The prediction was fulfilled. David
vas missed. His seat was empty. That
)ne vacant chair spoke louder than all
he occupied chairs at the banluat. In
almost every house the articles OF fur
liture take a living personality.
That picture stranger world not see
lnvthing remarkable either in its d.
iSn or execution. but ii is more 10 you
han all the pictures OF the Louvre and
he Luxembourg. GOI remember wh3
bought it and who admired il.
And that hvnn bOOk-yOu remember
shC sanr il l. And that crailc-ynI
,emember who rocked it. AMI that
3ible-you remember who Tcld Out Of
t. And that bed-vOu remember who
slept in it. And that rJOm-yOI re-
member who died in it. But there is
nothing in all your house so eloquent
and so mighty-voiced as that vacant
IN Iir. | suppose that before Sail AMI
his guests got un from this banquet
there was great clattcr OF wine pitch
ars. but ali that racket was d-owa.I out
ly the vOicSS thi,' v;l,GH IN :T0:I The vd-
cant chair a. the taDtc. Millions hayr
razed and went at Iohn Quincy AlsHis'
vacant chair in the house OF r'1T'as mt
atives. and at Hsnry Wilson's vacant
chair in the vice presidency, and at
Henry Clay's vacant chair in the Amer
inan senate. and at Prince Atbert's va
cant chair in Windsor castle. and at
Theirs vacant chair in the councils OF
the French nation: but all these chairs
are uuimportant to you as compared
With the vacant chairs in your OWL
household. Have these chairs any les
son for us to learn: Are We any better
men and women than when they first
addressed u:
First. I point out - yOI n fathers
vacant h air. Old a!cn a!wlys Ike to
sit in the samn rlacn aaI IN the sane
chair. They somehow feel mora at
home. and Sometimes when v0u are ~
their place and they COM into the
room. YOU jumDuD suddenly and say.
Here father. hnTAS your chair. The
probability is. il Is an arm chair. for h.
is not so strong a. he Oace was. and he
needs little uDhOlding. His hair Is {
little frosty. his guns little depressed,
for in his early days there was moi
much dentistry. PcCha:.s ciae chan
and Old-fashIoned apparel. for though
YOU may have sug EaStai some lJnDrOvh
ment. father daes MT want any Ot yOul
nonsense. Grandfather nhEeC hal
much admiration for new tangled
notions
Ihope you dill not crowd that old
chair and that il d,j not Cct very much
in the way. Sometimes the old man,
chair gets very much in the way, eS
pecially IL he has ben 30 u1wi.se - &c
make over all his property TO his child
rem, with the Uad 'rSiaIding that they
are to take care o. him. | have seen in
such cases the children crowd tie old
mans chair 10 the dooc. ana then crowd
it clear into the street, and trcn crowd
it into the POJrh Fu-c, and keep on
crowdiug i, until the Old mai fell out
of it into his grave.
But your fathers cGair WAS a sacred
place. The children used to climb M
on the rln-s OF il for gOId-night kiss
and the longer he stayei the bitter YOU
liked it. But thai chair has bsrn
vacant for some time. The furniture
dealer would not give yOu 3D cent, for
il. hut il Is a throne OF influence in your
domestic circle. | saw in the French
palace, and in the throne room, the
chair that Napoleon T~ci = O,rupg. Il
vas a beautiful chair. hut the most
magnificent part or il was the letter
N" embroidered INFO thr hac.1 of the
chair in purple anl gOil. And yoTc
fathers old chair sit- IN the throne
room Of your heart, and voIT affections
have embroiiCTei into the hack OF that
chair in purple and gold the letter f
Have all the prayer o: than old chair
been answered. Have all the cAun>el=
Of that old chair hen pCacticed? Speak
put. old armchair
I GO a little further on in your house
gnG I find the mothers chair. l; Is
very apt to be a rockin -chsir. She had
20 many cares and troubles to Sp0taa
tnat il must have rockers. I rem 'nSer
il well. It was an old chair and the
rockers were almost worn out. for was
the Youngest, ani the chair had rocked
the whole family. II made 4 c0eakinc
noise as ii moved; hut there was music
in the sound. II WAS just high eaOUTh
- allow Us children TO put or head.
into her lap. That vas the hank whcrt
we deposited all our hurts and worries
Al, what a chair that was. Ii was diff
fereat from the fathers chair: II va,
entirely different. You s,siI ne how?
can not tell. tut W. all FELT il Was dii
ferent. Perhaps there was about thi
chair more ge-tleuess, more tender
ness. more grief when We had don,
wrong. When We were wSywdrI faith
er scolded. but mother cried 1t was
very wakeful chair. In the sick day
OF children other chairs could not kee
awake: that chair always kept awake
kept easily awake. That chair kne'
all the old lullabies and all those word