Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-11-24
A Thanksgiving Story.

) tie last touches to his sermon. 1t wa.
rather all important occasion witt
him, for he had been but few months
ordained, and this was the first time
that he had been called on to prepare
a discourse for the great New Eng
land festival
During the preceding weel; of study
his feeling as to Thanksgiving Day
and its observance had deepened and
strengthened. Looking back to the
foundation Of the practice, he was
struck anew with the solemn beaut '
of its idea. How scant were the priv
ileges, how imminent the deliverances
on which our forefatners founded their
first giving of thanks How immense
the national growth had been; what
material prosperity. what develop
nent of resource, what successes and
triumphs had been granted since then
to the American people. Truly lit
tie, we had become thousand What
thanks could be adequate to such
mighty mercies! LET the people
praise thee, o Lord Yes, let all the
people praise thee was the text he
had chosen, and the spirit of the word
filled his soul as he carefully wrote the
date at the bottom Of the last unsullied
page of his manuscript.
Then he rose and went to the win
dow. The sun was setting, and the
early dusk of autumn drawing on
Already the stars were stealing out in
! the clear, MINDLESS sky. Lights twink
led up and down the streets. From
across the little wooded valley in which
the small midtown was built, stood a
large mansion more brilliantly lighted
| than the rest 1t was TIE house of
Squire Eldridge, for long years deacon
in the church to which Mr. Williams
had Just been called, and it was there
that on the morn he was to eat his
Thanksgiving dinner.
1t was but week since he came to
Blackwater Gap, and as all his flock
had called on him with rush, after
the cordial custom of country parishes
he had but aconfused idea as yet as to
who was who. There was a Mrs Ed
| ridge; yes, he was sure of it, when he
came to think: he remembered her
quite well, brisk little lady with a
| pleasant, motherly manner. Daugh-
tiers? He thought SO, but for the life
of hiln he could not disentangle them
from the many other girls, daughters
of other people to whom he had been
presented. Then there was that niece
from the city, of whom Mrs. Odell,
wife of the other deacon, had spoken.
He did not like the idea of her at all?
"a frivolous, fashionable girl is
quite out of place at a simple, hearty,
cordial festival like Il country Thanks
giving" he reflected. "She will be
false note, like bar of dance music in
the middle of figure note. l wish
she were not to be there
Alex. Williams, the son ola Scotch
farmer living on the Canadian border
of Maine, educated at the Bangor Sem
mary, and with just six months ex-
perience in the ministry, had been
very little in cities, and knew almost
nothing of the ways and ideas OF the
dwellers therein. His opinion about
them he had received at second hand
from his quiet thoughtful mother and
thrifty father, who opined that cities
were hot beds for all Chat was evil, and
that the fruits of the spirit grew as
rural boughs exclusive Keen witted,
tender-hearted, with really brilliant
powers, Alex was still very Young,
very uniformed in certain ways; MAJ
row minded from lack of opportunity,
and prejudiced by virtue of his envi-
ronment. The city girl, wbcm his
imagination had constructed, was
flimsy unreal creature, given up to
amusing herself, whose mind ran TO
waste while she devoted her time to
novels and candy and spent her nights
at theatres and balls. All city young
ladies were like this, lie believed.
while per contra, all country girls were
just the other way. simple. religious,
duty-loving, free from vanity and al
fectation, and content to serve God in
their day and generation, without the
diseased craving for amusement which
was one of the evil signs of the times.
He glanced at the squire's pew next
day while the organi3t was playing
the prelude to the first hymn. to verify
his conjectures. Yes--one, two, three,
no less than four girls were sitting be-
tween Mrs. Eldridge at the top and
the squire at the door, all pretty or
prettyish, and all very gay and dressy
as to attire. Birds wings of every
tint nodded over brown bangs and
yellow bangs; there was futter of
lace and ribbons, and resolu;e air of
style. But say-tllree OF them was
like this; the fourth seated next her
mother at the top of the pew, seemed
different. She wore a garment of dark
cloth, fur-trimiued aud large black
hat, and there was something in the
aspect of her calm, bright face which
struck him as unlike her sister, and
quite delightful
There is one whom the city cousin
has not corrupted" he thought, and
/ he picked out the most gorgeous of
the other three as the obnoxious rela-
! tive in question, and proceeded to
disapprove of her with all his might.
! All the time he preached his eyes went
| by irresistible attraction to meet the
/ full attentive gaze of the quiet listener
/ in the black hat What good
.'hearerN she was. The other oirIs