Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-05-07
LIFT UP THE FALLEN.
DR.. TALMAGE PLEADS FOR WELCOME
FOR THE PRODIGAL.

mrs W. ~ 'AtA th~ 800
Righteous Elder Brother - Kind
ness Would Reclaim Many Who
Fall by the Way.
WASHINGTON, May Gin this dis
course DR.. Talmage pleads for a hearty
reception to all those who have done
wrong and want to get back, while the
unsympathetic and self righteous are
excOriated; text Luke XIV, %, And
he was angry and would not go in"
Many times have l been asked to
preach a sermon about the elder broth
er of the parable. 1 received letter
from Canada saying, lis the elder son
of the parable so unsympathetic and
so cold that he is not worthy of recog-
nition?" The fact is that we ministers
pursue the younger son. You can hear
the f1appings of his rags in many ser
monte breeze and the branching of the
pods for which he was an unsuccessful
contestant. 1 confess that it has been
difficult for me to train the camera OBJ
scura upon the elder son of the para
BILE. l could not get negative for
photograph. There was not enough
light in the gallery, or the chemicals
were poor, or the sitter moved in the
picture. But now I think l have him;
not a side face or a three-quarters or
the mere bust, but a full length por
trait as he appears to me. The father
in the parable of the prodigal had moth
ing to brag of in his two sons. The
one was a rake and the other a churl.
L find nothing admirable in the dissO-
iuteness of the one, and 1 find nothing
attractive in the acrid sobriety of the
other. The one goes down over the
larboard side, and the other goes down
over the starboard side, but they both
go down.
From all the windows of the old
homestead bursts the minstrelsy. The
floor quakes with the feet of the rus
tics, whose dance is always vigorous
and resounding The neighbors have
heard of the return of the younger son
from his wanderings, and they have
gathered together. The house is full
of congratulations. l suppose the tables
are loaded with luXuries; not only the
one kind of meat mentioned, but it's
concomitants. CLAP" go the GYM
balls. "Thrumr' go the harps, Click
go the chalices, up and down go the
feet inside, while outside is a most sor-
~ spectacle
Always Present.
The senior son stands at the corner
of the house, a frigid phlegmatic. He
has just come in from the fields in very
substantial apparel Seeing some wild
exhilarations around the old mansion,
he asks of a servant passing by with
a goatskin of wine on his shoulder
what all the fuss is about. One would
have thought that, on hearing that his
younger brother had got back, he
would have gone into the house and re-
joiced and, if he were not cOnscien-
tiously opposed to dancing, that he
would have joined in the oriental schot-
fish. No. There he stands. His
brow lowers; his face darkens; his lip
curls with contempt; he stamps the
ground with indignation; he sees moth
ing at all to attract. The OdOrS of the
feast coming out on the air do not
sharpen his appetite; the lively music
does not put any spring into his step.
He is in Il terrible pout; he criticises
the expense. the injustice and the NOR
ais of the entertainment. The father
rushes out bareheaded and coaxes him
TO come in. He will not go in; he
ScOlds the father; he goes into a pas
quinade against the younger brother,
and be makes the most uncOmely
scene; he says, Father, you put a
premium on vagabOndism. l staid at
home and worked on the farm. You
never made party for me; you didn't
SO much as kill a kid. That wouldn't
have cost half as much as a calf But
this scapegrace went off in fine clothes,
l,0 INoa l. - 1oO
and what a time you make over him!
He breaks your heart, and you pay
him for it. That calf to which we
have been giving extra feed during ell
these weeks. wouldn't be so fat and
sleek if l had known to what use you
were going to put it! That vagabond
deserves to be cowhided instead of
banqueted. Veal is too good for him!'
That evening, while the younger son
sat telling his father about his adven-
lures and asking about what had &C.
Cured on the place since his departure,
the senior brother goes to bed disgust
ed and slams the door after him. That
senior brother still lives. You can see
him any Sunday, any day of the week.
AT a meeting of ministers in Germany
some one asked the question. "Who is
that elder son?" and Krummacher an
Swered: 81 know him; l saw him yes
terday." And when they insisted upon
knowing whom he meant he said: MY
self. When l saw the account of the
conversion of most obnoxious man,
was irritated"
An Migrate.
First, this senior brother of the text
stands for the self congratulator self
satisfied, self worshipful man. With
the same breath in which he vitupe-
rates AGAINST his YOUNGER brother he