The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-07-28
THE Va 5ANT CHAIR
OR. TALMAeE BREACHES ON THE
POWER OF ASSOCIATION Il

3sDR. IAlMAGE BREACHES 81 ON THE
POWER OF ASSOCIATIONS.
wotner's Rerk. and Fathers Arln Chair
Bring Forth Tender memories ,vhsan
They Are Conc These NJ sI,er IDS Il me (
: Preach Powerful sern,ons, ~ "a. 3
LAKESIDE, o., July D.-For many
years people have, gathered ID multi
.ftudes at this season of the year fora
reat outdoor assembly, The grounds
s are short sail from Sandusky. The
place beautiful beyond description. DIR.
Talmage preached this morning in this
! delightful place Ia, a vast multitude. His
subject was the Vacant Chair, and his
text, l Samuel Xxx, lS: "Thou shalt be
missed, because thy seat will lie empty"
Set on the cutlery and the chased sill
yerware ofthe palace, for King Saul will
give state dinner today. A distin-
gutshed place is kept at the table for his
sOn-in-law, celebrated warrior, David
by name. The guests, jewellcd and
plumcd, come in and, take their places.
When people are invited to kings BAN
luOts IhoJ dI0 very uDb W Sos Dut pciOI0
tue covers are lifted from The feast, Saul
looks around aud finds a vacant scat It
tine table. He says within himself, per-
haps audibly. "Wht does this mean?
Where is my son-in-law? Where is Da-
vid, the great warrior? invited him.
expected him. What! vacant chair
nt the kings banquet" The fact was
That David, the warrior, had been seated
t,f,1, ,at xhD,. s,,. .l.,,, D.,
table. The day before Jonathan had
eoaxed David to go and occupy that
rlace 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 was empty. That one
vacant chair spoke louder than all the
occupied chairs at the banquet.
In almost every house the articles of
iurniture take a living personality. That
piuture-a stranger would not see any
thing remarkable either In its design or
execution, but ii is more to you than all
The pictures of tho Louvre and the Lux
ernboulg. You remember who bought it,
and who admiredit. And thathymn book
You remember who sang out otit. And
that cradle-you remember who rocked
it. And that Bible-you remember who
read outit. And that bed-you remem.
ber who selpt in 1t. And that room
YOU remember who died in it. But there
is nothing 10 all your house so eloquent
and 80 mighty-voiced as the vacant
chair. 1 suppose thai before Saul and
his guests got up from this banquet
there was great clatter OF wine-pitch.
ers, but all that racket was Crowned out
by the voice that came up from the va
cant chair ut the table. Millions have
gazed and wept at John Quincy Adams
vacant chair in the house o. representa-
tiyes, andat Henry Wilson's vacant chair
'in the vice-presidency, and at Henry
sClay,s vacant chair in the American
senate, and at PRINCE Albert's vacant
chair in Windsor Castle, and at Theirs
vacant chair in the councils of the French
nation; but all these chairs arc unim-
portant to you as compared with the
vacant chairs 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
home, and sometimes when you are in
their place and they come into the room,
you jump up suddenly and say, "here,
father, here's your chair" The proba-
bility is, it is an armchair, for he is not
so strong as he once was, and he needs
little upholding. His hair ,s a little
frosty, his gums little depressed, for
in his early days there was not much
dentistry. Perhaps cane char and old
fashioned apparel, for though you may
have suggested some improvement, faith,
er does not want any oil your nonsense.
Grandfather never had much admiration
for new-fangled notions. l sat at the
table OF one OF my parishioners i'll a
former congregation; an aged man was
at the table, and the son was presiding,
and the father somewhat abruptly adj
dressed Tie son and said: MY son, don't
now Try to show of because the minis-
ter is llerc!" Your father never liked
any new customs or manners; he pre-
ferred she old way of doing things, and
he never looked so happy as when, with
his eyes closed, he sat in the armchair
in the corner. From the wrinkled brow
to The tip of The slippers, what placieity!
the wave OF the past years OF his life
broke at the foot ot that chair. Perhaps,
sometimes he was alittle impatient, and
sometimes tod the same story twice.;
but over that old chair how many blessed
memories hover! hope you did not
crowd that old chair, and that 1t did not
get very much in the way. Sometimes
The old mans chair gets very muchin the
way. especially ii he has been so un-
wise as to make over all his property TO
his children, with the understanding
thatthcy are to take care OF him. have
seen In such cases children crowd the
old mans chair TO tue door, and then
crowd it clear into the str ct, and then
I, erowdit INTO the poor-house, and keep
on crGwdlng II until the old man iell out
OF, it into his grave.
But your father chair was sacred
place. The children used TO climb;up
ON the rutigs of it for a goodnight kiss,
and the longer he stayed the betteryou
\ likedit. But that char has been vacant
row for some time. The furniture
dealear would not give you so cents for
it, but it is a throne of influence in your
! domestic circle. / saw in the French
palace, and IN the throne room, the chair
that Napoleon usedto occupy. Itwas a
beautiful chair, but the most significant
part ofitwasthe letter "No embroidered
into the back of the char in purple and
gold. And your fathers ola chair sits
IN the throne room Of your heart, and
yollr afiectitns have embroidered into