Grass Valley telegraph., 1857-12-26
E THANK SEWING DISCOURSE,
Delivered at the Cong. Church, Grass
Valley, on the 26th of Nov. 1857,
REV. MARTIN KELLOGG.


COUNTRIES and States are often personi-
fed. A land may be spoken of as having a
life of its own. There is now at Washington
statue representing our young State, en-
bodying the sculptor's idea of California; IS
dignity and promise.
wish to personify California, to-day; to
! speak Of her, as having life of her own,
interests and hopes of her own-apart from
the life, the hopes and the supposed interests
of fsE igpdjjyida this DAY OF thanksgiving,
prssser to speak of California, rather than
of Californians. ..-.
| Our State. has many grounds for being
! glad and rejoicing, in common with other
States and other lands She has enjoyed,
during another year, general peace and
prosperity. .'No war or battles sound y
has been heard. From other Continents
! have come tidings of disturbance and blood
shed; especially from the swarming nations
/ of Asia. The clash of arms has resounded
along the coast of China and startled the
confident Briton in the heart of India. The
Americas have not been wholly quiet. The
crude republics to the South, have Aad their
usual quarrels and anarchy. The azy fac
| tions of Central America have been stirred
! to deeds of blood-While the frstborn Of
J. fillibusterism has beeu throttled inits era
die. From across the plains hay come
threats of collisions between bretffen -
threats that made our ears to tingle, hcause
uttered by Saxon lips, and because tie par
ties were our brethren. To the Norh, the
implacable savage has raised his will war
whoop-and sad tales of Indian and Mrmon
malice have come from our overland high
way. But within the borders Of our State,
peace has reigned, ,-bounteous, benigl, all
blessing peace,
Prosperity has cheered our land. The til
ler of she sold has been rewarded. Mining,
has, on the whole, been successful-ealsing
streams of gold to flow as freely from our
shores, as if another Midas had touched the
soil and ledges and rocky river-beds Her
camille interests, less prosperous than in
other times, have held their own and how,
while the cry of financial distress rings from
oul whole Atlantic coast, and from all the
vast basin OF tho Mississippi, wn have ST laast
one cause to be thankful for that shameful
neglect, which makes us still foreign State
These blessings of peace and prosperity
of exemption from peslilence and death; O.
1 Ii ia o,a1 xuit ohar
less joys-demand, this day, our hearty
thanksgiving and praise, to Almighty God
But as they are not special blessings, pecu
liar to this land, will not dwell on them
l choose, rather, to speak of what think ii
CaIifornIa's special Reason for TRaMSRei
-Ha l.. g giving.
would not slight others but 1 would
have His one duly recognized. 1t is this: =
The general disappointment Of ats iaahabi
tants. Not their disappointments during
the past year, in smaller things, but the dis
appointment Of the high hopes with which
they came to this State. really esteem
this to be Californa's great, special cause
for rejoicing and giving thanks to-day.
Does it seem hard to draw States glad
ness from its peoples sorrows? Nay, let u.
be thankful, if private disappointments car
be shown to have wrought public blessing
But that must be fairly shown. And
think it can be, easily and triumphantly.
That the State is fall Of disappointed peo
pie, presume no one will deny. There are
many histories, Of those about US, which cal
for sympathy aid sorrow. The general out
lines of such history, are these. The
strong man heard of this bounteous Ell Do
rado, and left his whitehaired parents, hi
; weeping wife and little ones, to come anC
thrust in his sickle and share the rich har
vest. Either he thought the supply of golt
. unbounded, or he reckoned on being one O
}, fortunes faYorites. Every man, within
whom untried and impatient energies ar,
chafng, feels sure of succeeding In the mos
daring enterprise. He puts implicit trust il
his ability, or in his good fortune, or in both
So men hurried to California fully expect
ing to get rich, and not to be long about it
They promised the sad hearts from whicl
they broke away, that they would soon b.
back again, to live all the more happily fol
the brief separation. Some would return il
} a single year ;-how short that would be
Most said " ttco years, and then!" A few
spoke of three, or even four OF FIVE; but al
agreed in this,-they fixed time, and tha
one which seemed to them quite short. Be
: fore age could sprinkle many more gray
hairs on the heads of the loved parents, be
fore the bloom could fade from the fonG
wife's cheek, or the little ones grow half &
head taller, before the last warm kiss o
plighted faith could grow cold in the lovers
memory,-the successful gold-hunter shoult
certainly be back and, all would be gladnes
and comfort. The stay should be short
the pain Of parting swiftly fcllowsa q