Democratic messenger., 1892-12-03
OUR THANKSGIVING
Or. TALMAGE DlscoURsEs ON THE
SEASON OF INGATHERING.


Most Familiar Facts to illustrate til.
Most Important Truths-The Life Of III.
Corn Image of the Life Of Man.
BROOKLYN, Nov. 27.-Rev. DR. Tai
mage today chose for his subject of dis
course one eminently suited to the time
following the ingathering of the har-
vests and to the thanksgiving season
The decorations of the Thanksgiving
day still remained on the platform and
the galleries, and long rows of yellow
and white corn on the front and back cf
sermon. The text selected was job V.
&c, AS as hook of corn cometh in in his
season."
This is the time Of the year for huSk-
ing corn. IL you have recently been in
the fields Of Pennsylvania or New Jcr-
sey or New York or New England, or in
any Of the country districts, you know
that the corn is all cut. The sharp knit,
struck through the stalks and left them
all alon; the fields until man came
with II mile of straw and twisted Il
few Of licc wisps of straw into band.
and then. gathering up as much of th"
corn rs he could compass with his arms,
he bound il with this wisp of straw and
then stood il in the field in what is called
a shock. There are now at least two
billion bushels of corn either standin.
in the shock or having been already
husked The farmers gather one day
on one farm. and then another day an
another farm. and they pnt on their
rough husking apron, and they take the
husking peg. which is piece of iron
with a leaihern loop fastened To the
hand, and with it unsheath the cprn
from the husk and toss it into the golden
heap. Then the wagons come along and
take it to the corncrib.
SCRIPTURE STORIES ABOUT CORN.
About corn as an important cereal or
corn as metaphor the Bible is CON
stantly speaking. Yon know about the
people in famine coming To buy corn of
Joseph. and the foxes on fire running
into the standing corn" and about the
oxen treading ont the corn. and about
the seven thin ears of corn that i'll pha-
roah's dream dcvoured the seven good
ears. and tie ''parched corn" handed To
beautiful Ruth by the harvesters Of
Bethlehem, and Abisail's five measures
of ''parched corn with which she hoped
to appease the enemies Of her drunken
husband, and David's description of the
valleys covered over with corn and
1.-THE handful of corn in tine EARTH" and
''the full corn in the ear" and Christ :
Sabbath morning walk through corn
fields. and the disciples ''plncking ears
of corn" and so | am not surprised Ia
find corn husking time referred to in my
text "As a shock of corn cometh in in
his season"
How vividly TO all those of rs who
We're born III the country comes the re-
membrance of husking time. We wait
ed for it as for gala day of the year.
1t was called Il frolic. The trees having
for the most part shed their foliage. the
farmers waded through the fallen leaves
and came through the keen morning air
to the gleefnl company. The frosts
which had silvered everything during
the night began To melt off the top of
the corn shocks. While the farmers
were waiting for others they stood
blowing their breath through their fin
gers or thrashinS their arms around
their body To keep up warmth of circu
lation. Roaring mirih greeted the late
farmer as he crawled over the fence
Joke and repartee and rustic salutation
abounded. All ready now.
The men take hold of the shock of
corn and hurl it PROSTATE. while the
moles and mice which have secretcd
themselves there for warmth attempt
escape. The withe of straw is unwound
from the corn shock, and the stalks heavy
with the wealth of grain are rolled into
two bundles, between which the husker
sits down. The husking peg is thrust in
until II strikes the corn, and then the
fingers rip off the sheathing of the ear.
and there is crack as the root of the
corn is snapped off from the husk. and
the grain disimprisoned is hurled up into
the sunlight.
The air is so tonic, the work is so very
the company is so blithe
that some laugh. and some shout, and
some sing, and some banter, and some
tease neighbor for romantic ride
along the edge of the woods in an even
tide in a carriage that holds but two,
and some prophesy as To the number of
bushels to the field. and others 90 into
as To which shall rifle the
most corn shocks before sundown. Afte:
awhile the dinner horn sounds from the
and the table is surrounded
by a group of jolly and hungry men.
From all the pantries. and the cellars.
and the perches of fowl ON the place the
richest dainties come, and there is car
niyal and neighborhood reunion, and
scene which fills our memory part with
smiles, but more with tears, as we re-
that the farm belongs now TO
other owners, and other hands gather in
the field, and many of those who min
gled in that merry husking scene have
themselves been reaped like as u shock
Of corn cometh iii in his season."
THEY HAD OUR KIND OF CORN.
There is "a difference of opinion as to
the orientals knew anything
about the corn rs it stands in our fields:
but recent discoveries have found ont
that the Hebrew knew all about Indian
maize, for there have been grains of corn
picked up out of ancient crypts and ex-
humcd from hiding places where they
We're put down many centuries ago. and
they have been planted in our time and
have come up just such Indian maize rs
We raise in New York and Ohio. So
am right when | say that my text may
refer to a shock of corn just as you and
| bound il; just as you and threw it;
just as you and husked it, There may
come some practical and useful and
lessons to all our souls while
we think of coming in mt last like a
shock Of corn cometh in in his season."
Ii is high tiDe that the King Of Terrors
were thrown out of the Christian vocab
ulary. A vast multitude of people talk
of death as though it were the disaster
of disasters instead Of being 10 a good
l,lacv.,rx ~ l,lna.c,,..,u \.