The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-01-31

ped away in paper in dark. draw
ers, and the great decanters OF
brown sherry and Madeira, of shrub,
and of all the strong and red old
liquors that flesh was heir to. And it !
is equally true that it is unnecessary to |
load our tables with half the amount
of this Castings of good food,n sim
ply in order to do reverence to the day,
or to maintain the old honors to which
it has been used. he,burnt offeringof
one turkey is as good as that of hec-
atomb of beeves, and to the taste of
to-day dish of flowers on.thestable or
rose at every plate is worth all the
uncut and untasted yiands that are
only an ostentation of generous hos
pitality, and that, since they are to be
eaten cold or warmed over on. another
day, are like the ghosts of picked-up
dinners intruding on the banquet, A
rich and bountiful dinner does not de-
pend on its appearance Of prodigality
and waste so much as on its pleasant
sufficiency, its good order and its nicely
| of preparation. One can, indeed, if so
sorely bested as that, dine on crust
with thankful heart that one is not
starving, with no crust to hinder; it is
only Thanksgiving dinner, if the
chief thing is unforgotten, and that is
the thankful heart; and such banquet
as Michael Scott prepared lin the
kitchen ofythes Ntg. of FraAee woiiad
not be a Thanksgiving dinner If eaten
without that thankful heart That one
may have an all-sufficient Thanksgiy-
ing dinner it is not needful to work
like slave in the kitchen and pantry
for week beforehand because ones
mother and grandmother or because
ones husbands mother and grand
mother did. Let the dinner be- the
tasteful and toothsome dinner of to-
day and this generation, not of yester-
day and the generations that thought
quite assmuch of the table as was good
for them. --a;. -
But, let the dinner be profuse or
spare, it is not the sole feature of t&@
day; it becomes one to add other pleas
ures to the occasion-the pleasures of
welcome, of consideration, of amuse-
ment; to seek out new.entertainment,
a new method of enjoyment and of
passing the time, as much as new
dish or condiment; to make thesWhole
season a thing to look forwardsto with
anticipation, and recollect with enjoy
ment. ft~
That Thanksgivingday has not been
ordinarily looked upon as particularly
woman's festival does not hinder the
fact that it is so; for reflection will
show how much the largest part women
have in tan equal part with the rest
of people, in its enjoyment, a prepon-
derating part in its preparation, and a
recognition in that inherent qualitysot
the day which makes respect for 1t a
part of the things revolving around the
orbit of home and the observance OF
the domestic sanctities where woman
is pre-eminent. Into Christmas, into
New Years, into the Fourth of July,
into harvest-homes, and the birthdays
of heroes, into all the other holidays
that we'recaH, different element en-
ters-a religious, or a patriotic or q
poetical one.s Thanksgiving-day is the
only holiday of them all wAere,
throughout the1ength and breadth Of
the best portion OF. continent, the
most conspicuous part of the celebra.
ton belongs to home and to women
Il HGrper'S Bdzdr,