The Portland daily press., 1881-11-26
THANKSGIVING.
The Observance in Portland.

At Plymouth church union service WAS
and Rev. DR.. Seward preached the sermon.
His theme was taken from Ecclesiastes,
TO "Say not thou what is the cause that
the former days were better than these, for
thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this.'
It appears from this protest, said the preach
or, that in those early days, when 1t was utter
ed, men we're dissatisfied with the present and
were longing for the past The mon of Solo
mons time were mourDfully recalling the
glory of Davids reign. They were drawing
damaging comparisons between the stirring
conflicts and the glorious victories of that
earlier period, and the tame peace and une-
ventful quiet of their own day. The adage
that "peace hath its victories no less renowned
than war;" had not come into acceptance. Or
it may be that tired Of "to day."
men talked over the wondrous miracles of
Gods power, which illumined still remoter
age. We hear them wishing that they could
c,uld listen to the mighty thunderings, that
they could see the red hghtnings, that they
could have the pillar of cloud and fire stand
ing on their pathway.
And it may be that they travelled further
back in thought and yearned for the long life
and the large experience of the patriarchs
when old men could look into the faces OF
their childrens children to the thirtieth gener-
alton.
The wise man who wrote the book which
gives us our theme observed this tendency to
magnify the past and disparage the present,
and 1t moved his indignation. "Say not thou
what is the cause that the former days were
better than these" They were not better
You do not need to inquire for a cause. You
are unreasonable complainers You should
not forget that the past had its evil and the
present its joy. The past was not all sunshine,
aud the present is not all cloud and gloom.
You are bearing the crosses and burdens of the
present, and you overrate them. You dimly
see the trials and sufferings of the past, and
you underestimate them.
This inclination to glerify the past and COM
plain of the present evidently belongs to-
human nature.
/ have no doubt that the generations that
came Just after the darkest iron age had
midnight of that age. We hear the groans
that come from the hearts and the lips OF hv-
ing sufferers, and we see the tears that are
coursing down the burning cheeks OF our
neighbors and friends. But the groans of
silence of the sepulcher and the tears
of the orphans OF past day have
ceased to flow and keeps no record save IN the
book of Gods remembrance. We sail away
from the shore Of country that has its rocky
soil and barren wastes, its thorns and thistles
and rugged hill Sides But as we move out
into the sea and look back, we perceive only
its fertile slopes and waving harvestS and YER
dant forests and clustering mountain tops
The preacher then invited his listeners to
summon before them those pictures and ideals
and memories of the past that were most at
tractive and inviting, and say, wherein all the
foregoing years or centuries they would have
thealines free to them.
He cited some of the prominent epochs and
periods of the past. The patriarchal age, with
its longevity. The Sinaitic age with its glori-
Gus theophsnies. The days of the prophets.
The latter centuries before uChrist Greece 10
the day OF her fullest glory. The Augustan
age of the Roman empire. The different CEN
turies-especially the fret and fourth and sew
enth and tenth. The era of the reformation
in the sixteenth century. The days of the
Pilgrim fathers. The period OF the Ameri-
can revolution. The times of our fathers and
grandfathers.
And it was claimed that none of those form
or day. were better than these. Then the
discourse glanced at the leading characteristics
uf our own times, and briefly set forth their
large possibilities The lessons of contentnent
and thankfulness were drawn from the theme
aud the special duties which God assigns to the
men OF the day were suggested and enforced.
The discourse closed with an alluslon TO the
death of the President.
We cannot forget that sore calamity has
befalen the nation since the year came IN.
We ind ourselves beneath its shadow to-day. II
our beloved President had been an average
man with two talents, of fair intellect aud
honest purpose performing the duties OF his
office with respectable ability, we should still
have mourned over the vacancy made by the
death, and the consequent disorganization ana
the fresh stirring up of PARTISAN ambition.
And If he had by the ordinary visitation OF
Providence by wasting sickness, or by sudden
accident or on the field of battle our sorrow
W uld have been deep and sincere.
But he was no ordinary man. His depart
IRE has put the country to taking the measure
of his power and worth. Death has procured
the drawing of his portrait, and it is the uni
versal judgm snt that this one character holds
a raue and symmetric combination OF the high
est qualities.
Fairness and business A large heart acute
reason, strong will-pewer. Versatility, felici-
tOus adaptation, inexhaustible resources.
Breadth Of vision with concentration OF mem
tai force. Originating aud executive energy,the
grasp of principles and details. The magic OF
influence and the skill of leadership.
We need to change only one word OF line
in Milton 'sgelegy upon Lycidas, to aI ply 1t TO
our lamented President "For Lycidas is
dead, brave Lycidas and hath not left his
peer"
And the bitterness of our sorrow is intensi-
fed BY the tragic manner of his death. For
he was cruelty plucked out of life by the hand
of an assassin.
Yet in the sad presence of this sore grief we
see the tide Of joy sprnging up beside the toe se
the national harmony, for the Worldwide
sympathy, for the bowling in humility before
God, which have come of this great calamity
So one theme offers us its final and browning
lesson. 1t bids US look beyond the relgns OF
kings and the life of republics.
There are better days in store for the faith
full than any century of time can show. Days
that no tempest will cloud and no night VIII
shorten. Days so joyous that we shall cease to
wish back again the ioyfulest times OF our
earthly pilgrimage.
At the First Parish church Rev. Dr. Hill
presided.
At the First Parish church DR.. Hill
preached from the miracle of giving light to
two blind men, recorded at the close of the
goth chapter of Matthew. After brief COM
mentary on the naturalness of the narrative,
he remarked that all intellectual perception
may be described at sight; and that blind
men may typify the human race. The highest
learning only attains perception of the
ignorance of our knowledge. Learning and
genius sometimes lifts man among the
clouds, but they do not take him sensibly
nearer to the stars. The field of the I'M
known is incomparably greater than that of
the known. This was illustrated from chem
istry and the physical sciences, susceptible of
numerical calculation, to show the relative area
of the fields. But the same truth held in
other branches of knowledge, incapable of
numerical computation and more interesting
to men. Such were philosophy and theology;
and personal affection and interests.
From Jonathan Edwards definition of viz
tue, we could readily show that the happiness
of the saints must be of a nature to ensure its
own perpetual increase.
Ali men had of course desires; but all de-
sires partook in part of curiosity, the thirst
for knowledge, the blind prayer for sight. In
this blind cropping for sight, craving for
experience, the young were led into rash
experiments; they drop into pitfalls, are en-
tangled in mazes, thrust their hands into
serpents' dens, lie down among scorpions, and
wander back to die wretchedly.
In similar folly men read pernicious books
from curiosity, and were corrupted; it was
tasting poisonous drugs to see if they were
harmful.
The two blind men were wiser. they sought
light, and the power of light, at the only