Year: 1875

| aSO ne was angey. ana would not 60 IN.


The parable Of the prodigal son has neve


been treated properly by Spday schoo


teachers. 4hey always lift that picture vi


to show how naughty ieAis to run ava.


from home, and spend your substance, in


stead of working on the farm and keeping


money in . savings bank. The picture haI


. reverse side, and ON that is che prodiga


sons brother, called the el1er son. No


where in Scripture is shown meaner 1nar


than tho elder. While preachers hold NJ


the prodigal a. a frightful example
the selder 10 kept shady. He wal


what is called good young man
| He worked from one years end t.
another; never took vacation; never wen,


to the theatre; neves smoked; he neve,
| cared about good clothes, or took youre
ladies to see the amateurs play, or get ice
| cream. These things all cost too much. He


was laying back to join the church and
marry arioh widow. He was the JOSEPH


Surface of the parable set against the pfodi
gal Charles. Sone years sinc6 the very LATE
Henry Ward Beecher said that the elder
| brother had set Of virtues based on mean


ness, that he was too close-fsted and small
| hearted to 60 on spree or TO make calls; init
mating that he had not the true inwardness


to be- jolly good fellow. Mr.. Beach has


shown Us that Beecher knows little or moth.
ing about the prodigal business, and we
take his statement with pinch Of salt. and
60 back to the freshness Of the Bible.


The prodigaf son was handsome young
fellow: they all are, in tho beginning. He
swanted to travel. If the truth was known


it would be seen that the elder brother
made home uncomfortable for him; it would
b seen that he intended to inherit the


homestead, and was putting up job on


the prodigsl to make him lave. More


than one of US have been right there. 1t


any rate, the prodigal asked for a division


of the personal propefty, and he took what


he could get from 1.-THE governor" and put


out. Let us follow him before coming back


to the disagreeable good young man.


We are told that the prodigal took his
Journey into far country, and there wasted


his Substance with riotous living; that a


famine came in the land and he began to be


in want. Now the worst thing about riot.


GUS living. is. its utter foolishness. The


Champagne Charley fellows are bound to


come down. know of one who used to set


up wine for any crowd he would meet in q


bar-room. To-day that same man would


take fifteen cents and the direction to free
lunch as great favor. Well, there was
nothing MEAN about the prodigal. He was
just Is good boy as they make them. The
money he spent was his own. He did not
steal and never tried to run for an Office in
the strange land. He went to citizen of
the country and asked for work, like man.
Tho citizen did not take much stock
in prodigals, but told the young man he
was engaged, and sent him out to feed
swine. In that occupation he became com


pletely discouraged he had no thing to
eat, and wanted to stuff himself with husks.
One Of the accommodating commentators
who are always round trying to make
everything reasonable, from feeding mul-
titude with five loaves to a journey through
the eye of needle, tells us the husks re-
ferred to were sort of pei pod which had
some sustenance, and could be eaten. That
is irrelevant. The disgrace of the thing
was esting with the hogs. Many Of us
have been there TOO, crushed under de-
grading labor, knowing ourselves capable
of better things.


Right there. the prodigal came out
strong. He did not turn vagabo nd. He
did not join eiHcus, sell soap, take . book
agency, or drift into the newsp aper .busi-
ness. Reverses of fortune did not make a
Matt Hogan of him. He had seen better
days, but he did not bank on what he was
before the war. He reasoned the case, and
sensibly concluded that as he must work
for living he might as we'll work for his
father; the old man certainly gave his
servants enough to eat; and with . high
resolve he started'for home. He was good
and tumble, aud wanted and expected
nothing but to be . hired man for his


Now good Word for the old man. When
the father saw that boy coming homo, peni-
tent and in rags, he did not preach to him,
and tell him he had disgraced his family,
and to see what . good man the elder was.
Nothing of the sort. He knew his son had
suffered, and that his heart was heavy.
The ola man ran out to meet him, fell on
his neck, kissed him. That settled it. The
boy tried to say between his sebs that he
had sinned, that he wanted to work with
the servants. The old man rose to the
nobleness of god. He ordered the best
robes to be brought, and new shoes, and
even put ring on Che ptodigaps finger.
He also ordered the fat calf to be killed aud
got up . dance. There were 10 mincing
waltzes, no languid German, ne Boston
dips, in those days. People danced when
they were happy, and dancing was not so
wicked as our Presbyterian friends would
make Us think. All, what . sight Of q
fathers love was there to see. How many
sons might be saved if fathers
would melt as did the prodigal's father.


Now we must look ON the other picture.
The elder came In from the field, the good
young man, and hearing the music, sneaked
round the back wsy and asked the servants
what it was all about. He was told the
prodigal had retarned, that he was all
right, thae the fat calf had beeaokilled. and
everything was lovely. And the elder,
HE was angry, and would not 60 in"
The father came out and entreated him.
The good young man then began to tell
how many years he had worked, "Lo these
many years." he said; and how he had
never dome anything wrongs but that he
never could ges even kid - make merry
-:<L h:o E,;o~I.s -. oofo 20