Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-25
MEMPHIS APPEAL
WEDNESDAY MORNING., DEC. 20, 1879


After two days stormy prelude, Christ
mas Is ushered In this morning by
nipping frcsls and the snow-laden clouds
dlscharging their burthens. -
We can say nothing new about Christ
mas. The theme has long since been
exhausted. The subject has been twist
ed into every imaginable shape and
worn quite threadbare. All tie changes
have been rung q thousand times over,
and there is nothing nlore to be said.
Every one knows, or should know, that
Christmas is observed rs the birthday Of
the. Saviour, and that it ought to
be observed with the sOlemnity
becoming the grandeur and sublimity of
that event. II e. not day for fasting
and humiliation, forssekeloth and ashes,
but an occasion for calm and sober re-
5oieings and thanksgiving. This is a
happy morn throughout the whole civil
lied world. 1t is one OF the links which
makes kin Of ali mankind in all cOun-
Eries where the Christian religion pre-
-vai.s. Between midday Of yesterday and
midnight Of this twenty fifth Of Decem-
ber. three hundred and sixty millions Of
people viii have participated in this the
worlds holiday. The '.joy bells'' win
have been heard in the far East
eEelve hours before the sun rises
upon our shores. way in Aus
fralia, through Asia and Africa, and
over all Of Europe, the sounds Of rejoic-
fBg viii have been stirring the morning
air long before the festival begins with
rs, and their echoes viii pass over the
whole Of our continent, north and south,
until they die away at night in the dis
sant islands Of the Pacific. There is
something inexpressibly grand in the
thought that so many hundreds of mil
lions peopling all the habitsble parts Of
the globe have their hearts beating in
unison and inspired by the one theme
upon this one day. All other holidays
hsve their territorial boundaries, some
being limited to cities, some TO States
and kingdoms, some to broad empires, !
like our own national festival, but this
one holiday unites all the world wher- /
ever civilization has shed its light upon |
the land. These hundreds of millions
will to-day participate in its rejoicings,
viii be sOffened by its influences, cheered |
by its benevolent promptings, and be
made the better for it in every way, ex-
cept in those instances which, let US
hope, are few and far between, where
the heart is steeled against all generous
emotions
In our enjoyment to-day sround the
blazing fires Of happy hearths in COM
Portable homes, let US not forget that we
are human, and have duties TO perform
which this day above all others should
keep fresh in our memories. In this
bleak and eai1 December, which is cold
and dreary without, but all warmth
and brightness within, let us not lose
sight OF those who are poor or in
prison and are denied these pleasures by
their poverty or their misfortunes. There
are hundreds around US to whom the
coming Of Christmas brings no joy. In
cold and cherries garrets, in foul and
fetid novels, with scant clothing and
still scantier food, there are squalid
vretches covering over half-heated stove
or expiring embers, thinking bitterly of ,
days when they, too, welcomed Christ ,
mas and participated in its enjoyment- S
days when they entered with young and /
happy hearts into the spirit Of the mu- e
of Santa Claus-and waited to r
or came to be welcomed, at I
The profuse and hospitable board. Oh, {
4 contrast hightens luster, does it not +
ilsO make the dark places more dark? Il
And ifthere be q misery more unendur-
lble than another, is it not in the reeOg- A
lition that the bright world has no long 4
z brightness-thst the season Of fes- \
ivity brings no joy-that while friends
meet friends In glsdness Of soul there is {
10 si1dly hand to grasp-and that in n
be general enjoyment there is but the +
me duh round OF pain and poverty? Il
Aud this, as we have said, is the cOndi- | :.
ia Of many in our city-with- Il
u reach Of all Of us-within the =,
cry sounds in many places Of that mer- 4
ioieat and music, which from the men, "a
ries evoked, will but add another ..
weight 70 the already crushed and over 7
hearts Of the poor. What
1sre practical performance Of the doc
hines OF Him, than the alienation of
like these? What gift more q
-.eptable to the Saviour than that out a
{ the abundance with which we have :,
eea blessed we shall give even a lit !,
e to make the day Of His festival day T
isstivity to His poor slsO-and "the q
DOR we have always with us?" 1t has q
cen well remarked that, whether the .,
sOciatioBs Of this festive season !,
Q religious or social, or both, q
Is the magnet Of the year :,
hitch draws In closer bands the links Of =
be family chain, and makes the whole q,
Grid kin. The sacred observances :,
'hich symbolic the joy Of the Incarna- =
on, teach all to hail the advent Of the =
,edeemer Of man with the prophetic
Irden: "UntO US child is born, and
lto Us Son is given" In all devOut q,
hristisn hearts they SOW more deeply =.
le seeds Of gladness, and the sympa- -
lies Of every spirit imbued with Christ =
n truth thrill at the Natal Morn and n,
10 events Of Bethlehem. -
And In this spirit we wish our readers -
a Happy and Merry Christmas" =
IE sLIasIssIPPI THIS AORNING-A V
FREE SHOW. eit
- -. s-.,s 49, - -. -. n,