The Washington critic., 1885-11-25

Economically Considered.
A nation ON her knees! Ilark, while she lifts
Her thanks to Him who guides her life and
Her destiny SO sure.
Bow low, yo people;
Thanks from every homo-irom every heart
That boasts It's birth beneath hor favored
--tJoscph whltton.
Among the days Of the year that give
special zcst to life and lift from our
shoulders, for the nonce, its burdens Of
care and worry, Thanksgiving is certainly
not the least in importance. Fireside de-
lights are as necessary to the happiness of
the average American as the air he brcathes
is to his existence. II is the memories Of
these that the approach Of the day pictures
upon his heart with tender tints and, In
the foreground, he sees the joys Of home
kindred, peace, contentment, feastlng-all
mingled in sweet confusion and harmony of
tone.
True, touch of sadness may shadow the
picture. Many, perhaps most OF u.s. when
seated round the festive board, may have
known the eye to swim and liz TO CULVER at
the sight Of an empty chair Yet even this,
If our feelings are in proper training, will
to level the Wall Of Death and bring our
souls in closer sympathy with those that lie
behind. So will they live again with us
during the sacred period, making their
voices, their virtues, their examples ours, to
cheer and cherish and to lead, that we may
safely thread our way through the windings
Of the thoroughfare that lies as yet before
us all.
That we should have season Of Thanks
giving In which to express our gratitude to
Him, the Giver Of all good is II duty doubly
binding upon us. Not only has lie given
us all that Is needed for existence, but lie
has added thereto manifold things with the
sole end and intent Of making that exist
encc peasurable. II man, In his obstinacy
or obtuseness, sometimes fails In the full
enjoyment Of them, the fault is his. Desire,
capacity aud reason have been given him
that he may the better appreciate the bless
ings bestowed; and II he makes bad use of
three such attributes, the conclusion Is plain
that he would not make good use Of dozen
others II he had them.
There are some disconnected mortals In
the world-and, perhaps, IL would not be a
world without them-who declare they have
nothing TO be thankful for; that Thanks
giving was made for the rich, not for the
poor. An assertion we will not dispute;
but, the possession of dollars does not con
stitute riches, nor the want Of them poverty.
There is many man, rich indeed In 1l the
wealth the world can bring him, who
gets very little out of his dollars, unless 1t
be anxiety and misery, and these are not
exactly the kind of riches for which he feels
like being thankful. No. The truly rich,
indeed, are the ones for whom Thanksgiv-
ing was intended and made, and of these
he is richest who is contented with the least.
Men--and myriads of them--have found and
could tell the world the solemn difference
that lies between true and false riches
could they come from the grave to do so.
But our philosophy is running away with
us and making us forget a very important
adjunct to rhanksgiving--or rather some
thing more than an adjunct, for 1t has be-
come, we may say, part and parcel of the
day itself; namely, the turkey, Custom
now mixes feasting and mrth with most of
our celebrations, though the events they
commemorate be sacred, or their origin re-
ligiOus In its character. And, In this, Gus
tom is wise, There can be nothing very
wrong In the enjoyment of those things
which have been given us for the purpose;
indeed, to refrain, would be as Milton says,
an evidence of ingratitude to the Giver A
free and cheerful mind, too, especially at
hours Of meat, Is one Of the soundest sure
ties for long life. Hope may be the an
chor but mirth is tho cable whose unrusted
links hold our craft from dashing on the
rocks.
Nor is there anything incongruous in the
mixture of cheerfulness with matters of a
sacred character. Long-faced religion must
stand, II 1t stands at all, upon other doc
trines than that taught by Him. the Master;
and its followers are not following Him
when they practice 1t.
But to return to our turkey. How or
when this delicious bird first became such
an important feature at the Thanksgiving
feast we are not prepared to say. That 1t
is worthy of its place at any table is the
opinion OF no less an authority than Brillat-
sayarin, who enthusiastically says:
1.-THE turkey Is, assuredly, one of the
noblest gifts the New World has given TO the
Old. II is the largest, and, If not the most
delicate, Is at least the most savory of our
domestic fowls. II also has the exclusive ad-
vantage of assembling around IL all cases of
society. When our vine-growers and farmers
give a feast on long winters night, what do
we behold turning on the spit before hot
fireY-a turkey. when the useful manu-
facturer, the Woodworking artisan, wishes to
give treat to his friends, the ONigdtO dish Is
turkey stuffed with chestnuts and sausages.
| And In our high gastronomic circles, in those
select reunions where politics are obliged to
| give way to a dissertation on taste-what Is
expectedS What is brought up at the second
course-a trufiled turkey"
This general gastronomic fitness Is quite
as fully appreciated in the New as in the
Diu 'Oiiui uhu iiOlh ihihhoSNluS up lntu
the month of February, or even later, the
turkey has little respite from its martyrdom
TO the greed Of man, and continues to grace
| with its juicy presence the tables of all
classes that feel pecuniarily able to pay fol
it. Indeed, "Where do all the turkeys
come fromY' is quite as often asked as that
other problemic one which has been puz
cling the brains Of all humanity, regarding
the destiny Of the pin. We trust, however
that no dearth in the supply will ever b,
serious enough to cause us any gastronomic
| inconvenience, and that the Nation, as She
meets the day upon the rim Of the revolving
| years, will be ever ready with the prayer
upon her lips: "Heaven bless Thanksgiving
| and the turkeYl,,-[The Caternr for Nnynm