Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-12-06

this very purpose. And all he asks of
us is that we enjoy them, in the graft
tude and genuine acknowledgment of
them as his gifts"
Thanksgiving is emphatically home
festival. 1t does not commemorate
events in our national history, as is done
on the 4th of July or the 30th of May.
1t is not devoted to the memory of any
saint. 1t is family day, 1t gathers. so
far as practicable, the scattered men,
bers, spreads the table and loads it with
the gifts of providence for a joyous feast.
1t gladdens the home with memories
CLEANED from the years of family history
that are past The thrilling touch of
kindred hearts is felt more than is the
wont. 1t will not, then, be aside from
the purpose and spirit of the occasion j.
| make home life the topic of this Gus
tomary public discourse.
The family is the primal institution
of society; it is fundamentally the pros
perity and greatness of any people. In
reading the earlier books of the Old Tes-
lament, you can not have failed to OBJ
serve how often the word family or FAM
lilies occurs. At the very outset, the
writer, Moses, pictures the innocent
purity of the first family in Eden. typ
ical representation of the institution at
its best. We proceed with the history,
and it is ''the sons of Shem after their
families, ''the sons of Ham after their
families, = 1.-THE sons of Benjamin after
families Nehemiah said, II set the
people after their families" God prom
Used Abraham, .'In thee shall all the fam
g Al, 4. l.. IL 4
| will quote passage from the ex-
quisite story of Isaac and Rebecca, which
furnishes the text: "Now, if We will
deal kindly and truly with my master,
tell me; and if not, tell me; that | may
turn to the right hand or to the left
Then Laban and Betheul answered, and
said: The thing proceedeth from the
Lord; we can not speak unto the bad or
good. Behold Rebecca is before thee;
take her and 60, and let her be thy mas
ter's sons wife, as the Lord hath spo-
ken. And it came to pass that when
Abraham's servant heard their words,
he worshipped the Lord, bowling him.
self to the earth. And the servant
brought forth jewels of silver and Jewels
of gold. and raiment, and gave them to
Rebecca; he also gave to her mother
and to her brother precious things.
And they did eat and drink, he and the
men that were with him, and tarried all
night; and they rose up in the morning,
and he said: Lead me away into my
master And her brother and her
mother said: Let the damsel abide with
us few days, at least ten; after that
she shall go. And he said unto them,
hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath
prepared my way; send me away that [
may 90 to my master. And they said,
we will call the damsel, and inqnire at
her mouth. And they called Rebecca,
and said unto her. Wilt thou go with
himp And she said: | will 90 And
they sent away Rebecca, their sister, and
her nurse. And they blessed Rebecca,
and said unto her, thou art our sister;
be thou the mother of thousands of mill
lions
Isaac went out to mediate in the
field at the eventide,' and saw the cam
els coming. Rebecca 'lighted off the
camel" and "took q veil and covered
herself" ''And the servant told Isaac
all things that he had done. And Isaac
brought Rebecca into his mother Sa-
rahs tent, and took Rebecca, and she
became his wife; and he loved her; and
Isaac was comforted after his mothers
death"
The words of the venerable old Jacob
are full of pathetic sentiment: ''Bury
me with my fathers, in the cave that is
in the field of Ephron the Hittite;
there they buried Abraham and Sarah,
his wife. There they buried Isaac and
Rebecca, his wife, and there they buried
Leah"
Christ honored the institution of mar
riage, by performing his first miracle at
wedding feast. He kindled the light
of Joy in affected households, by restor-
ing the sick ones to health. He recalled
to life the only son of q widowed mother.
He repaired the breach which death had
made, in the beloved family circle, at
Bethany. He was loyal in his love to his
mother, in his last hours of suffering.
"A son that never did amiss,
That never shamed his mothers kiss
Even from the tree he deigned to bow
For her his agonized brow,
Her his sole earthly care.n
From Christ's own lips proceed those
words, which crown the solemnity of
every marriage ceremony. 'What God
hath joined together, let not man put
asunder."
In pursuing the subject, remark that
the family is the mainstay of society.
Nations rise and sink, according as the
| family is elevated or depressed. Infex-
ible integrity characterized the early
centuries of Roman history, and that
was the period of the purity and perma-
nance of the married state; and the gem
eral corruption and decay of the later
| centuries went hand in hand with the
corruption of that institution. During
the first five hundred years, divorce was
almost or quite unknown, while after
wards it became frightfully common,
the most sacred ties being sundered on
| the slightest preteXt.
! When, in the latter part of the last
century, France exhibited scene of
bloody anarchy, at which the civilized
world stood aghast, there was the same
rottenness at the core of society. The
low state of family life, at that time, is
| indicated by the fact that twenty thous-
and divorces were granted at Paris i'm
! single year. In missions among the
| heather, sure measure of success is
/ the degree IN which the elevation of the
family has been effected. A properly
constituted and well ordered household
shows that the gospel has not
been preached in vain. Without
the family. men would become
| like brute beasts. which cannot
organize and establish homes, be-
cause they do not possess the reqisite
intellectual anu moral qualifications.
Nests, or dens. or lairs are best that they
can originate. The first Napoleon. with
his far-slgntedness, perceived what was
needed for the advancement of France
to that height of grandeur which was
his aim and absorbidg ambition.
What France needs,n he declared, sis
race of Mothers Since the mother
is the center and soul of the home. it
was equivalent to saying that the great
need of France was more genuine aud
elevated type of family life.
An eloquent Englishmar expressed
views, which fully accord with this sem
timent of the Emperor of France.