The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-07-30
1.-THE Va CANT CHAIR"
DR.. TALMAGE breaches ON THE
POWER OF ASSOCIATION.

Bring Forth Tender Memories Whc,
They Are Gone--Th. sn Mcnol les Oftim.
Preach Powerful Sermons.
LAKESIDE, o., judy l0.--Fur man,
Years pcolIc have yatEered in multi
tudes at this season Of the year for q
rcat outdoor assembly. The grounds
are n short sail from Sandusky. Tho
place beautiful beyond description. DR.
Talmagc preached this moruing in this
delightful place to vast multitude. lIis
subject was the Vacant Char, and ms
text, Samuel XX, Is: "Thou shalt be
missed, because thy scat Will l,c ,mpty.'
Set Oh the cutlery and the chased sill
verwarc OF the palace, for kim Saul will
give state dinner today. a dist:n
gushcd place is kept AT the table for his
sOn-in-law, a celebrated warrior, David
by name. The guests, ,icwellcd and
plumed, come in aud lake their places.
When people are eiuvitcdt to Il klny's ban.
Quct, they arc very apt TO 90. But before
tue covers are lifted from The feast, Saul
looks around and luds Il .acnut at t
tine table. lie says within himself, per-
haps audihly, "Wh It does this mean:
vid, the yrcat warrior? | invited him.
| exp, clcd him. What! a vacant chair
at the kings banquet" The fact was
that David, the warrior, had been seated
for The last zine at his iathcr-in law 5
table. The day before Jonathan had
toaXtd iAavid to go and occupy that
r;,ce Ill The table, saying to David in the
wOrGs of my text. Thou shalt be
4 I,>,y hn
The T., reelection was fulfilled. David was
missed. His scat Was empty. That one
vacant chair spoke louder than all the
occupied chairs at the banquet.
In almost every house The articles of
furniture take Il living personality. That
picturc--a stranger would not sec any
lhin2 remarkable either In its design or
execution. but it is more to YOU than all
the pictures of the Louvre and the Lux
cEibuuIy. You remember who bought it,
and who admircdit. And that hymn book
YOU remember who sang out otit. And
that cradle--You remember who rocked
it. And that Bibc--you remember who
read out it. And that bed-you rcmem.
Der who sclpt in it. And that room
you remember who died i'll it. But there
is nothing in all your house 50 eloquent
and so myhly-VOiccd as the vacant
chair. | suppose tha, before Saul and
his guests got up from this banquet
there was great clattcr OF wine-pitch-
ers, but all that racket was drowned out
by the voice that came up from the va
cant chair at the table. Millions have
gazcd and wcpt at John Quincy Adams
vacant chair iii the house OtrcprcScnta-
tivcs, a,;dat Henry Wilson's vacant chair
in the vcc-prcsidency. and at Henry
Clay's vacant chair i'll the American
senate, and at Prince Albcrt's vacant
chair in Windsor Castle, and at Theirs
vacant char in the councils OF the French
nation; but ali these chairs arc unm-
pOrtanJ to you as compared with the
vacant chairs in Your own household.
lave these Chairs any lesson for us to
learn? Are we any better men and wo-
men than when they first addressed us?
First, | point out to you the tathcr's 5
vacant chair. Old men always like to
sit in the same place and in the same
chair. They somehow lccl more at
home, and sometimes when you are in
Their place and they come into the room,
you jump up suddenly and say, ''herc,
father, here's our chair.' The proba-
bility is, it is an armchair, Tor he is not
SO strong as he once was, ana he needs
little upholtiiny. His hair IS Il little
frosty, his gums little depressed, Tor
in his early days there was not much
dentistry. Perhaps Il cane char and old
fashioned apparel, for though you may
have suggested some Improvement, faith,
or does not want any OF your nonsense.
Grandlathcr never had much admiration
for ncw-idnylcd notions. | sat at the
table OF one OF my parlshlOncrs III Il
lOrmcr congregations; an aged man was
at the table, and the son was presiding,
and the lathrr somewhat abruptly adj
dressed the son and said: My son. don't
now try to show Oll because the mlnls-
ter is hcrc!' Your father never liked
any new customs or munncts; he pre-
icrrcd the old way Of doing things, and
he never looked so happy rs when, with
hls eyes closed. he sat III the aru'chall
i'll the corner. From the wrinklcd brow
to the tip OF the slippers, what placicltS
the wave OF the past Years OF his Iii,
broke at the foot OF that char. Perhals
sometimes he vas Il little impatient, ant
sometimes tod the same story twice;
but over that oll chair how many blessed
memories hover! 1 hope You did noI
crowd that old chair, ana that 1t dld no
get very much in the way. Sometimes
lhc Old mans chair gets very much III LlI,
way, especially If he has been so un
wise as 10 make over all his property /,
his children. with the una, ratandli.
that they are To take care OF him. have
seen III such cases children crowd Iii,
Old mans char TO tic door, and thcr
crowd IT clear into the str ct, and thcI
crOwdlt INTO the pOOr-hOusc, and keel
on crGwdiDg it until the old man iell on
Of it into his grave.
But your father chair was a sucr, ,
place. The children used to cimb uI
on the run9s OF it Tor Il goodnight kiss
and the longer he stayed the better 20,
liked it. But that char has been vacun
now lor some time. The furniture
dcalear would not give you so cents tol
it, but il is Il thrurc OF influence in 1Oul
domestic circle. | saw in the Flcncl
palace, nndln the throne room, the chair
that Napoleon usedlo occupy. H. was /
beautiful chair, but the most significant
part OF it was the letter"N" embroidered
INTO the back Of the char III purple ant