Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1872-12-06

ced nearer together and other ties
are stronger because some have been
broken.
Our fathers, when they came tc
what was once our American will
derness, came seeking homes, OF
what to them was necessary to a
home. Some might have come tol
adventure and some for gain, but
those who first celebrated this an
nual feast, sought, in it's best sense.
a Christian home. They brought
not, as the ancient survivors OF
Troy, their household gods, but they
came where they might worship
the God of every household, the
great Father in heaven. The uni.
versal prayer was theirs, which
may ascend from every home, that
in which we joined with our broth
er this morning, in the words taught
us by our Lord Jesus Christ, "Ou:
Father which art in heaven"
mot as the c0nqueror comes,
They. the true hearts, came;
| Not with the roll of the stirring drums
And the trumpet that sings of fame
Not as the flying come,
In silence and in fear
They shook the depths Of the deserts gloom
| With their hymns of lofty cheer.
| 'tAmidst the storm they sang,
And the stars heard. and the sea;
| And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang
| To the anthem of the free
"The ocean eagle soar'd
From his nest by the white waves foam,
| And the rocking pines of the forest rOar'd
This was their welcome homer
And even now homes are sought
The ambition of every young man
is to secure sometime a home; and
even the maiden, in her retiring
thoughts, pictures to herself all the
pleasant objects of a home, in which
| she herself may preside. Homes
are sought not where
1.-The ocean eagle soars,
From his nest by the white waves foam
but midst the forests and on the
prairics of the far interior, on the
slopes of the Allegheny and Rocky
mountains, and far off toward an.
other ocean.
Homes are sought, not by our own
countrymen alone, but the wandcrer
from other shores seeks here for
tune and a home. Not one race
only, but representatives Of every
race Of men, speaking different
languages, visit our vast territory,
which must contain for them a
home. Let them be at home. Let
them become familiar with our
American scenery; let them eat the
fruit of our land; let them learn,
though brokenly, to speak our Ian
guage, in which the most intelligent
thoughts may be uttered, the most
refined distinctions of meaning and
the most eloquent speech-the lam
guage in which are the treasures OF
ancient and modern literature and
the advanced learning of the world;
let them learn our laws end our Gus
toms, yes, and our religion, too, that
points to better home above. Let
them be at homo, and let us cult
vate in our heart the love of home.
Thus shall we have a common feel.
ing with all; thus shall we feel that
we are dwellers upon the soil and
the land is ours.
Some one has said: at is an
ennobling thought, the possession
Of a spot Of Gods earth, from the
surface all the way to the center" "
If you would do something to build
up true citizenship, give to every
man, or enable him to gain for him,
self, home. 1t is indeed wise
provision, that the actual settler
may name and own the spot, in onr
public domain, he may call his own:
and the brave soldier may possess
some of the land for which he ron:
dercd his service and pcriled his
life.
Among the songs of the nation.
may we never hear in weaker en-.
phasis,
Home, sweet home"
Next to love of home, rs q senti'
mcnt, giving purity apd efficacy tc
our national training, is loce Q,
country.
heard the late celebrated Ed
ward Everett remark, in apology fol
having allowed the use Of his name
as candidate for the vicc-prcsldcn
cy of our nation; "rhe party with
which l then identified myself was
at least PATRIOTIC" How much
there was in that one word spoken
by his eloquent lips! How much
there is in true patriotism, in which
to put our trust! No matter what
political dcmagogues may say; nc
matter what ambition for'placo and
power may do; no matter what soul
less corporations may devise; nc
matter what "rings" may plot, the
patriotism of the masses, if intelli.
gent and true, is safeguard against
them all.
What power there is in those
words "my country" Don't you
remember the spring of 1861? The
wordy strife of parties, the two great
parties which have disputed the
possession of our government for
years, was at its height. But
Sumpter's gun aroused the ma
ton, and Republican and Demo; rat
in all the loyal North, fought side
by side, and shared the rewards OF
victory at last. And had that pa.
triotism, which will sacrifice all Tor
itself, been prevalent from north to
south, our country would not have
learned its late bitter lesson of war.
But we need the more earnestly
to cultivate this sentiment now, that
the nation of the future may be a
unit among the nations, and that
each particular star of our flag may
shine as the stars of heaven, in the
blended light of the whole, and that
! its stripes may be as the streaks Of