Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-11-22
THANKSGIVING Day.

great days. One is the Lirthdiy of he
nation. Two belong to the C urch Christ.
mas, t @ day Of pro Use, and aSter, the
day of triumph. nd the fourth is Thanks.
givtn which belongs to the nation, and
10 he C urch but 1t is above all the day OF
tn family.
What place sha we give it as anniver.
say in our national life The ourth o.
July Is MT the real Dir hday of o r I'M
try. 1t marks rather its C ming OF age.
For the thday we must look further
back. We ons of New ngland long to
ella IN as its nat Il day that bleak ecember
t me when re PilSri MS stepped on lynn.
o tn KOck. Bat non to wnOm honor Is
due B"fore lymou,h was jamestown.
Tho birthday no or must be yielded to the
Oldest OF he id Thirteen tle mother of
Wa Abingdon. the ga liant state that never
faj ed to bta herself bra ely, in W atever
caus., AMI haI stands now strong III the
new day of impartial freed IN.
But Massachusetts, may fairly claim to
La e Vi en- the nation its ba tismal day
in the first Thanksgiving, How the 'uri
an spirit slOre out in that Thankful
for what They had not starved the In
dams had not swe IT the II from the face of
the earth Il seaSe and niger and hard
ship had left hem ute minority still
alive, They were few and weak they
had nut the bare necessities of life the
future was full of unc .rlanties and hreat-
enings- and they celebrated their condi-
tion by a day Of public lanksgviny.
Were they foolish In their t Give an
swer, o land whose foundations the laid,
Tel us, free happy. chris ian America.
mother o. grateful CHI ldren. refu of the
old worlds orphans hope of the poor and
the oppressed Was it not we'll that
while the Young commonwealth as
Graded in BILE k ad ersty these men gave
tn INKS to Alm'gh y God, and dedicated
their infant ate to lin
Thanksgi ing then. may be called the
national baptismal day But in its OBJ
servance it i especially the day of the
family. The church -ets but scanty
share. For the most part, G en- in good
church-goin New England, the var Gus
church cOngregat Ons unite for union
service" and forthwith their members
save a few aithful souls feel absolved
from the duty Of attendance, an | stay at
home. A honor to the faithful few.
May they hi their eward in Oyful
service and fruit ul Sc mon. But it
shali not be our business to scOl the stay
at-homes. Sur ly the Lord altar Is set
up where about the freSide is gathered
re united and happf family. This is the
children day. 1t is the grand 'arens
day. 1t is the day when all the links in
the family chain sh ne brightest What
meetings of the wanderers What loving
inclusive thoughts of those who are pres
ent only in spirit, What healthy human
ha 'piness, what freedom of innocent
mirth. Home is the OGDEN milestone
at every hating plac. in fe We look fond
| back and measure our dearnesS to it.
And on this goo day we gather to drink
freely at the fountain of its pure and sacred
affections.
The amIly is God $ church. 1t Is o der
and more sa red and IN re bene cent than
any other We come all of US, within its
hallow ,ng pow r when we first en- er INTO
life A mothers love is the eIrlieSt thing
we learn. All the way up, through child
hood. throu'h relations of brother and
sister, through tn holy bond OF we'll ok.
we are tau hit the one great lesson Of love.
Here is the purest and deepest happiness
of ear h. And when its ties are broken. it
is only to bind us to that unseen home of
which our earthly home is but the re-
shadnwing.
Let this he wholly day of thanks.
Wholly of oy it may not be. In almost
every ho ne there are memoir es and earn
ingS whose tenderness is 'eper than any
gadne s. Yet even in our sorrow we
give thanks. o. we not BILE oil for the
harvests that are gathere an safely
ST red wen so let MS thank him for
those WHOM he has iaken to his own
peace. AS from storms and cold of
November we shelter ourselve hy our
warm resides, so. blessed be is name,
there are some that are sheltered from all
the Or S Of ear h.
Are there any whose lives are bare and
Stripe Of al delight Behold the earth,
how 1t lies ga ess and bare and de SolaLa.
ct In its bosom lie thickIy scattered the
seeds whence it hall ON b robed again
In beauty unspeakable. urs he 1t 70
shelte in our bareIt an | hardest DAYS the
seeds OF fidelity and ia tn. The Lrrd will
give in his COOL time a letter time than
orr impotence wo Il appoint-the Ioy OF
spring and he wealth Of harvest. In a |
thin let us give him than :.
ThankS--and what he j les? The word OF
hi ~ who st nd- 20 u fr Di ne ofe
giving tsrlf 70 the world is. " nasmuch
as We have done it unto the least of these
my bre hr n v, have done 1t un me-"
lie re 10 the gr"a liver than prayer and
praise IS the Gu % cold water to one OF
hi tile ones. This is our bes' hanks
Civ ng, that or ears should lie omen %
every cry OF human waut-be 1t from
those who are starving in Asia OF in Ne
braska: from those at Or doors uho want
not aims only but Ort; from such as in
our sho and counting-rc oms, or at our
very firesideS, are hung y for appre ia
lion and sym a'hv. In or glad and
grateful sense of the fullness Of our avn
BILE sings the great b essing that we see.
and the greater that await us-there
comes to.us ever this divine word: Freely
ye have received, freely give.