The Russellville Democrat., 1875-03-25
THANKSGIVING DAY.

VI us; and the truth of the Lord endur- eth forever. Praise ye the Lord"
 Il will extol thee o Lord: for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made inv foes to rejoice over me. % Thou hast turned for me my mourn ing into dancing. Thou hast put of my saekeloth and girded me with gladness."
 As the sweet psalmist of Isreal sang praises unto God with tim .brel and harp, and made 3 joyful noise with stringed instruments and with organs, even so, to-day, the people of Arkansas rejoice in the goodness and mercy of the Eternal Ruler of the Heavens and the Earth. To-day the gratitude of ten thousand joyous hearts is poured out in anthems of glad some praise and thanksgiving, and is waited upward like the sweet incense floating from the holy alters of the patriarchal ia ther; and to-day, from celestial nights, the angelic host of Heav- en, catch the strains of adoration floating up from ten thousand grateful hearts, and once again the courts of glory resound with the joyful chorus--"Peace on earth, toward men good will"
 To day we may exclaim with the psalmist q will extol thee, o Lord, for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to re ioice over me. Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing. Thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladncss."
 Yes, to-day the heart of every true s,n of Arkansas is filled with joy and gladness and thanksgiv- ing; and we may now rest upon the secure nights where our feet are now planted, and shake from of our wearied limbs the mud and mire from the slough of des- pond through which we have safely emerged. We may now look back, and although we may shudder at the sight of the dark abyss from which we see our path way emerging--although we may shrink back in horror at @ review of the prosecutions, the injuries, wrongs and insults which have been heaped upon us-and al though we may quake and trem- ble when we consider the amount of endurence and forbearance which was necessary to carry us through the long night; yet to- day, we need not fear, for a ten der and merciful Providence has provided, we have stood the test, Arkansas is free and we are safe.
 It is sad thought and by no means fiattering to the boasted enlightenment of the people of the United States, that today, for the first time in fifteen long years, the people of Arkansas can rejoice and thank God that they are free. But it is finished; we have passed under the rod, and we trust we are improved by our tribulation. The past has no wrongs now, which we wish to avenge; today let us bar our hearts against all such thoughts, anl with thanksgiving that we have passed from the very brink of despair--from the close verge of anarchy and des- potism, into the full assurance of safety and freedom, let Us shut out the past, and live for the pres ent and the future. Let an era of peace and good will among the people of Arkansas commence to- day. Let strife and contention cease. Let demagogues and po- litical mountebanks cease to eX- cite and mislead the people; and let the people cease oplunge into strife and commotion at the call of these public nuisanses. Let partyism absorb less of our atten@ tion, and patriotism find 6 deeper resting place in our affections. Let Us choose our rulers with more prudence, and with greater regard for integrity and competen- cy, and let us hold them to a more strict accountability for the man ner in which they discharge their duties, The devastation which the past fifteen years of rancor and strife has wrought is fearful to behold, and the garden spot of our homes presents a scene of desolation saddening to the heart. The work Rehabilitation