New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-11-29
THANKSGIVING.

| THAhHJClS NU,
| The cheerful Winter holidays open to-day by the
eel, bratiOn Of the tina bonOred Thanksgiving fes-
tiv.l. With DO red-letter mark in the calendar Of
the ecclesiastical year-psescribed by no despOtic
! authority Ia Church OF State-commemoratv OF
no local or temporary event in the lapse of ages
this occasion is the spontaneous jubilee of the
people, spripging from sentiments and convictions
| in their deepest heart. to which the proclamatons
| Of our chief magistrates merely give utterance
Unlike the psgesnts created to dazzle the populace
in tie old world, which are regarded as boOns and
| not as Iiehts-intended to fasten the ch.ns Of
servility and not to cherish the sentiment of free
dom-this festival proceeds from universal feel
| Ing and has a no less natural, homebred origin
| than the FIRE On our domestic hearths.
The feast of Thanksgiving which We celebrate
to day, IS 9 precious connecting link between the
prest Mt and the past. 1t conceas the distance
which separates ancestry and posterity bya bridge
of flowers Our fathers inst tuted the observance,
when exposed to the perls of famine, pestence
and a savage foe. We recall their remembrance
as we ore crowned with the blessings of au Ad-
vanced civilization, aid lspped in the daintisst
Injuries of material prosperity. They were CRATE
full for handful of parcbed corn, cup OF fair
water. or the coarse shell fth left on the sand by
the retreatil wave. For as the tropics have Law
isbed their most fragrant spices delicious fruits
refre h the senses with their choice aromas, and
the generous board reoices in the proOucts Of the
distant forest They were thankful If 8 season
passed without the war-whOop of the Indian dis
turbng the slumber of their babes, and the fires
of savsge victory consuming tbs homes Of their
household treasures. With the wespons OF war
in ore band and the utensils Of industry in the
ether. they reared tie Institutions beneath whose
protection we now repese in DDdisturbed security.
Honor 70 the memory Of cur noble sires As their
shades hover around US from the dim spirit.l,nd,
let their D. estnce give fesher zet to our festiv
ities and by tire contrast of their trials, lend
moro rudy glow to our eDjc! ments.
But not the sor Of the Pig rims alone erect TO-
dsy the altar Of Thanksgiving. In every region oil
our va.t domain, the incense Of worship and the
song Of gratitude ascend to heaven from multi
luminous hosts. Fourteen States of the Union
combine to swell the choral anthem. The rock of
Plymouth, struck by the potent wand Of common
faith and frateTnal sympathy, gushes forth In
refreshing streams, reaching from the yellow
forests of Maine to the verdant plains of Texas
North and South, the Atlantic and the Mississippi.
unite to-day in the festal Offering. The stranger
within our gates joins in the common joy. Let it
be the jubilee of national feeling, sacred to the
cause of universal freedom.
Our feas. of tabernaces does tlead us, like tie
pious Hebrew Of old, into the green tents erected
beneath the Autumnsl csDOpy Of heaven, but
around the pleasant Winter freside Of home Il
is truly the festival of the family. The old hearth
stone to-day gathers its scattered children around
its hosptable blaze. Every one who can reach the
dear native homestead Is sure TO make his annual
pilgrimage il spite Of chill November rains, and
tire bleak hills which aresdy show white with the
crisp frost But within those wide, liberal doors
there is no chill The sunshine of the heart makes
e7ery place VAIN. Welcome tois day of kind and
living affections while the winds are waiting the
dirgs Of tbe depart Nc year
Nor shall the less favored of fortune be without
share in the hallOwed syppsthies Of this festival.
The rich and the poo utite In the enjoyment Of
the common blessings which under the benign
ordinances Of nature are more valuable ttan any
externsl distinctions. Health of boiy. peace Of
mind, clear heads, strong AIMS, loving hearts, srs
not distributed according TO sny rentroll, but are
granted 10 ell CONDITIONS Of hfe without respect
Of persons. Let no one look with the Indifference
OF churl on our expressions Of gratitude for uni
versa beuedic,io-s because they are nct the ex.
elusive pessessiO, Of . few. Rather let the voice
of Thanksgiving AID the chorus Of prass ascend
with a merry noise" from every heart for The
glorious sun fer the v,alizing atmosphere for the
cheerful rivers tie sublime mountains. the sound
ing ses. the boundless treasures Of nature aud the
ecstsoies Of immortal hope though they be not the
peculiar benson Of psupered fsverises Of fortune,
but the Inherent birth right of humanity.
At the same time the remembrance is forced
upon orr hearts ~ tie delightful festivities Of the
occasion tina. without the enjoyment Of freedom
all other spjoymen.s are deprived Of their sweet
e.. cb,rm Freedom of .as so1l and q the bod