Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1873-11-20

The lines by A T., of Fair Hav'
en-, will appear in our next weeks
issue.
THANKSGIVING.
o / love an old fashioned thanksgiving,
ste, When the crops are all safe in the barn,
When the chickens are plump With good living
And the wool is all spun into yarn
1T Is pleasant to draw round the table, m
When uncles and cousins are there,
And grandpa, VIII o scarcely is able.
sits down in, his old oaken chair!" az
is pleasant to wait for the blessing,
With a heart free from malice and strife,
While a turkey, that's portly With dressing,
Lies, meeRly awaiting the Knife"
The American idea of Thanksgiv-
ing originated in New 1ngiand. Mrs.
SARAH j. HALE, of<"Godey's Lady's
Book" assured us many years ago,
she Intended to impress upon the
Governors of the various States the
Importance of observing one and the
same day all over the Union. To
her, perhaps, more than any other in
dividuaT may be attributed the policy
ofoffering at the same epoch, prayers
in almost all portions ofthe country.
It's emincntly proper that We, as a
people, embrace the present opportu-
nifty to return thanks to that Provi-
denee which presided over eur nation
at its BIRTH, aud to ask forgiveness for
our manifold sions. There
has been times, perliaps, when we had
more to be thankful for than we can
chronicle in The fall ofthc year of our
Lord IRA; there were times when
the clouds OF prosperity aud plenty
were less lowering aud The )stars
brighter in our Horizon than at the
present moment yet VIC can find CON
s9lation,in the reelection that we are
in the bands of7.ftlfe IIig!land Lofty
Ono that inhabiteth Eternity"-that
we have the promise Of day when
the last tear shall be wiped from the
list eye, whoa virtue shall secure a
permanent triumrlI Owe vice. when
the widow and orphan shall not want
for bread, raal when flle wilderness
and the desert places ofcarth shall be
proud ~dhfrcjdi6e slige the cedar of
Lebanon aiiT the rose OF Sharon.
In oideuh Times ihg Pilgrims of New
England were won't to assemble, ono
!" ycar,aaFoHAd a common board. The
aged parents, tie children, and the
gi3ud .ciiildrcn,yrepaired TO the par
ental mailsiongand enjoyed the feast
fogetssas:sI There Bas5iio rcvelry, no
drunkenness, no b~lasphemy; but re-
iigion, characterized every word and
every action ;stle old folks ate, the
youngsters ate and frolfcked, and
rel the constable laid aside, for the
tiIne,n the solemn clar1rhwith which
he was accustomed to Brighten from
the virgin SOIL Of ConncGtleut, and
Massachusetts thegspirits of darkness,
which old CoTroS MATTER and 9TH
ers firmly believed had sought a par
adise in the western world.
The New Englanders still observe
Thanksgiving, and their descendants
in the Mississippi Valley have not en-
tirely forgotten the custom. In the
present condition of u country, de-
vout prayers, before and after feast
ing, will not be out of order. Let us
pray that our country may be pre-
served and prosperous; that politi-
clans may decrease in numbers and
improve in morals that a warm fire
and a fat turkey may visit every hovel
of poverty that those in authority
shall do better than they have done /;
that President Grant shall give up his
whisky toddy, horse racing and bull
pups, and devote the remaining days
of his term to the service of his coun-
try that Beast Butler, Carpenter and
ColfaM, may repent, become good
men and join a Christian Church, and
that the devil and all his works may
be overthr6wn, and the Kingdom of
righteousness established in the earth.
Thanksgiving is not a day for rev.
elry and riot, but for serious refiec-
ton, and let us embrace the present
opportunity to drop some ofthe vices
of fashionable society, ndadopt some
of the virtues of the New Testament.
What the poet said is too true.
'.Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and. frets his hour upon the stage,
And then Is heard no more; it is n tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 8
signifying nothing"
Thanksgiving, however, is a pleas
ant episode in life's dreary dream,
and happiest is he that remembers it.
we understand that g.. n. Edison
is now at the head of the Odd Fell
lows building committee. That struc-
ture may now-Be put down as finish
cd in the shortest possible time,