Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-11-27
THANKSGIVING.

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all with thanks and roast turkey, and as
such . day it is dear to the hearts of all
Americans. Thanksgiving doesn't make
as much noise as does the Fourth of Ju-
~, with its firecrackers, or as Christmas,
with its bells The country is the only
place in which Thanksgiving may be en-
joyed to its fullest extent, although there
are people who claim that it is not
without its own peculiar charm in the
smallest kind Of fiat. At first it may
seem absurd to the student of human
affairs that 16 pound turkey should be
able to perform with its maximum grace
in e12 fat. But this fact is not mys-
terry when we come to look it squarely
in the face and meet it with the mental
dissecting knife. It is because these fat
jewellers enjoy many Thanksgivings in
the turkey of the present.
After the head Of the family has gone
to the table alone to do the carving, be-
cause he would not have sufficient elbow
room if the family were congregated
about him, they sit down and dream Of
the turkey, Of the past when they were
out ON the farm looking across dreamy
vistas Of nesting landscape, punctuated
by the scarecrow shivering in his straw
hat and linen buster, to let the world
know that summer was q thing of the
past. And still they fancy they see this
old scarecrow standing among the corn
stacks, with the wind blowing through
his whiskers. They see him right over
there on the fire escape Of the neighbor-
ing fiat, for all the flatscape to them is
large area Of farm land nesting with
red leafed trees and mortgages that can
not be raised by hand and are not self
raising like the -four raised upon it.
1t has brought with it pleasant MEM
cries which cover . period Of 80 years.
1t only goes back to last March in the
flesh, but it carries the man back to the
time when he slept like . top ON a corn
husk mattress and arose in the early
morn togathvr the steaming pancake on
the fly, long before he dreamed that he
would ever have to gather the matutinal
horse car ON the fly. Il takes him back
to the old game Of shinney, and brings
back to him faces that had long since
faded from his memory. Out in the crisp
chilly air he shouts. 'Shinney ON your
own side! as Of old. and hears the
yelpins Of the hound, shining like pat
emit leather with enthusiasm, and is
stirred once more by the ripping whiz of
the flushed partridge, and the reverber-
ating bang Of the sportsman's gun, that
sounds so sweet in the aisles of the ST.
lent forest. He will not wake from this
pleasant dream Of past happiness until
the morrow, for then the turkey will be
cold, and the logs Of fancy's fireside
will have been reduced to white ashes
to stir fitfully in the yagrant gust of
wind. Even when the turkeys shining
carcass has been chopped up to be util-
lied as the base Of an economic soup, the
reminiscent charm win have vanished
gracefully. like SO bill at seaside
resort, for the turkey, like love, is never
itse gain when once it's Geld. Its feet
are On the ash heap and will strut
about no more. Its head, with its great
DuDdreary whiskers of flaming red, will
no more MARBLE in the rosy kiss of
dawn and fill the behOlder with rosy
anticipation Of the jocund feast Its
work is done, and its days are past, and
now the family, SO we'll begrimed with
gravy to the very eyes, sit and regard
one another in silent joy. The smaller
members will have to take bath to get
the turkey off them. But the victory is
theirs, rs they sit in the city fiat filed
with visions of ecstasy and break the
magic wishbone and wish that every one
from fhe highest to the lowest has had
just SO merry and glad q Thanksgiving as
has fallen to their happy lot.
r. X. MUNKITTRlCK.