The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1891-07-29
The Y u >'ANT CHAIR
DR.. TALMAGE PRSACAES ON The
POWER CT ASSOCIATION.

POWER CT ASSOCIATION.
Motner'S Ko,i. and Fathers Arm Chair
Bring Eo.,: !.nt.r Memories When
They Are Gore--Th. SO Memories Oitime $
rreacl, Powerl,:i sermons.
LAKESIDE, o.. Ju!y l9.-For many
Years peol.le lave gathered IN multi
ludes at tI.iS season of the Year for
reat outdoor assembly. The grounds
are short sail from Sandusky. The
place beautiful beyond description. DR..
Talmage preached this morning IN this
delightful placeto vast multitude. Ills
subject was the Vacant Char. and his
text, l Samuel Xxx, Is: Thou shalt be
missed, because thy seat Will lie empty"
Set on the cutlery and the chased Sill
verware ofthe palace, for King Saul Will
give state d.pner today. \ distln-
guished place IS kept at the table tor his
sou-n-law, a celebrated warrior, David
by name. The guests, jewel.ed and
rlumed, come in and take their places.
When people are invited to kings ban
Quet, they are very apt 10 go. But before
Tue covers are lifted from the feast, Sau!
looks around aud fluids a .acant sat t
the table. lie says within himself, per-
laps auGbl\. whit does this mean:
Where is my s"u-Iu-la%: Where IS Da-
rid. the great warrior: l invited him.
expected him. What! vacant chair
IL the kings hanQuetn' The fact was
,ha, David, the warrior, had been seated
t"r The last time at his tather-ln-law's
table. The day before Jonathan had
,oaxsd David to go and occupy that
.'iace 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 was
missed. His seat WIS empty. That one
lacaut chair spoke louder than all the
occupied chairs at the banquet.
In almost every house the articles OF
furniture take a living personality. That
picture-a stranger would not see any
ll,ing remarkable either in its design or
execution, but it is more to you than all
the pictures Of the Louvre and the Lux
eEibouIg. You remember who boug bt It,
and dwho admiredit. And that hymn book
YOU remember who sang out otit. And
that crade-you remember who rocked
it. And that Bible-you remember who
read out it. And that bed-youremem'
ber who selpt in it. And that room
you remember who diedln 1t. But there
Is nothing il all your house so eloquent
and so mighty-voiced as the vacant
chair. l suppose that before Saul ana
his guests got up from this banquet
there was great clatter OF wlne-pltch-
ers, but all that racket was drowned OUT
by the voice that came up from the va
cant chair at the table. Millions have
gazed and wept at John Quincy Adams
vacant chair in the house ofrepresenta-
tives, andat Henry Wilson's vacant char
in the vice-presidency, and at henry
Claws vacant chair in the American
senate, and at Prince Albert's vacant
chair in Windsor Castle, and at Ihie1,s
vacant char in the councils OF the French
nation; but all these chairs are unlrn-
portant to YOU as compared with the
vacant chars in your own household.
Have these chairs any lesson for US to
learn? Are we any better men and wo-
men than when they first addressed US:
First, l point out to you the fathers
vacant chair. Old men always like to
sit in the same place and IN the same
chair. They somehow feel more at
lone. and sometimes when you are IN
their place and they comeinto the room,
you Jump up suddenly and say, here,
iather, Aere's your chair" The prooa-
bility is, it is an armchair, for he IS not
so strong as he once was, and he needs
little uphoiding. His hair IS little
frosty, his gums little depressed, TOR
in his early days there was not much
dentistry. Perhaps a cane CHAIR and old
fashioned apparel, Tor though you may
have suggested some Improvement, tath,
er does not want any OF your nonsense.
Grandfather never had much admiration
for new-tangled notions. | sat at the
table OF one OF my parishloners IN a
former CONGREGATION; an aged man was
at the table, and the son was presiding,
and the father somewhat abruptly ad-
dressed the son and said: My son, don't
now try to show Off because the mlnis-
ter is here!" Your father never liked
any new customs or manners; he pre-
ierred the old way Of doing things, and
he never looked SO happy as when, with
his eyes closed, he sat IL the armchair
IN the coruer. From the Wr!nsled brow
to the tip of the Shippers, what placlelty.
the wave OF the past years OF his lie
broke at the foot OF that chair. Perhaps,
sometimes he was little impatient, ana
sometimes told the same story twice;
but over that Old chair how many blessed
memories hover! l hope you did not
crowd that old chair, and that it did not
get very much in the way. Sometimes
The old mans chair gets very much N The
way. especially if he has beeu So uE-
wise as 10 make over all his property TO
his children, with the understanding
that they are to take care OF him. have
seen in such cases children crowd the
old mans chair TO the door, and then
crowd it Clear into the str ct, and then
crowdlt lnto the poor-house, and keep
on cr0wd:ng it until the Old man iell out
OF it into ms grave.
But your father chair was sacred
place. The children used 20 climb up
on the rungs Of it for a goodnight kiss,
and the longer he stayed the better you
liked it. But that char has been vacant
now Tor some time. The furniture
dealear would not give you 80 ceuts fox
it. but it is throne OF influence in Your
domestic circle. | saw in the French
palace, andln the throne room, the chair
that Napoleon usedto occupy. Twas
beautiful chair, but the most Significant
part otitwas the letter N" embroidered
into the back Of the char in purple and
sold. And your fathers olo chair sits
IN tie ,hroue room Of your heart, and
your affections lave embroidered into