The Morris County chronicle., 1900-11-30
THANKSGIVING
LETTER
Late Autumn ReverieS by the
Rev. Franklin B. Dwight.

Kew. Franklin b. Dwight.
ReIoices In the BIrthrIght of an
American Always trus
the People" Good Advice Given
In the Recent Campaign Much
Around us Cries out for Correc-
tion.
! "Come Wallace, come, Rye, we
must be off down the valley for our
autumn walk. " The dogs fairly leap
with joy ana are soon far ahead of
me. Five minutes takes me beyond
the tagged sidewalks. Now a run
down he bank and along the wooded
hillside, aud then the open fields. One
of the finest of Whittier's poems,
though less read than many others,
is ellis Last Walk in Autumn. " He
who has revelled in the miracle of re-
turning spring" finds another beauty,
different yet real, in the bare woods,
whose outstretched hands plead with
the leaden heavens in vain. He
looks with poetic insight upon 1.-THE
withered tufts of asters" and "the
hoar plume of the golden rod" and
rejoices in the silver birch and the
scarlet berries where once bloomed
the sweet wild rose.
Autumn has its beauty no less than
spring, and even late autumn. the
time "of the scar and yellow leaf'' is
full Of rich suggestion to him who
will but read Alright
Before me is field sown with tim
othy. Already the tiny blades Of grass
have made their way above the sur
face of the ground, and from dis
tance one can see a soft delicate green
patch upon the landscape, which is in
pleasing contrast with the general
aspect of dull brown 1t is remind
er, too, that though nature sleeps in
winter it is never dead, and when
spring returns this field of fall-sown
timothy will be waving in the wind
far in advance of all it's neighbors.
There is a large haycart upon which
two strong farmers are p1lling large
shocks of corn which stood for weeks
in the fields and are now to be gath
cred into the barn. We cannot sing
with Mrs. Barbauld, "Flocks that
whiten all the plain, - for this is not
much of sheep raising country, but
we can unite in the next lines:
I" Generous sheaves of ripenea grain;
These to Thee our God, we owe,
Source whence all our blessings
flow
That is a beautiful picture which
occurs in "The Choir Invisible, =
where the gifted author, James Lane
Allen, pictures his hero as looking
forth on the Kentucky landscape and
rejoicing in all it's beauties as the
good gifts of God. The same author
in his last book, "The Reign of Law"
makes his hero begin life as a devout
Christian believer and then pass
through, period of spiritual darkness
from which he does not seem fully to
escape. While passing through this
experience he views the operations of
nature simply as result of stern and
unyielding laws and more and more
loses sight OF the divine Father, the
"Infinite and Eternal Energy who
is behind all law, who controls and
governs all things by His omnipotent
love. David made a sad mistake
when he gave up his faith were it only
for time, and it is not good sug-
gestion which seems to pervade the
book that the study of physical
science must lead a man away from
a firm belief in the Christ of the
Gospels. But the author is right
when he makes his hero say at last,
SIT is love that makes a man believe
in God of love. The self -sacrific-
ing devotion of Gabrielle did more
to revive David's faith than all the
arguments of his learned professors.
But l must find my dogs. That
English setter will surely get away
from me. He has been following the
trail of grouDd-mo and is now off
on the run ashamed of having trihed
with such small game. He goes so
fast that the Scotch collie cannot keep
pace with him. I am now we'll away
from local habitations. The woods
are before me and little brook is rip
pling at. my feet. AS Whittier took
his autumn walk he rejoiced in the
many suggestions of God S providence.
He delighted in the quiet New Eng
land homes, the abodes of industry and
thrift the nurseries of "old home
bred virtues, which the more open
land scape of autumn enabled him TO
see. With that ring of true patriot
ism which runs through so many of
his poems he is thankful that he can
feel the soil of New England at his
feet And as l tread the soil of this
goodly land of ours / cannot but rejoice
in the birthright of the American cit
izen in the thought that under God
the people of this land are working
out great destiny.
That was good advice which was
given by speaker during the recent
political campaign, Always trust the
people y / wish ne had said always
trust the people when led and guided
by our fathers God. Z" There is much
all round about us which cries out
for correction. there are abuses on
every hand which are causing con-
stant misery and suffering and which,
unless remedied are certain to work
their natural result and to bring upon
us devine chastisement But after all
it is just because of our faith in God
that we may have more and more
faith in the American people.
had no thought Of getting SO far
away from bone and from my subject
1t is nearly lunch time and the
bracing air has made hungry Come
Rye, come Wallace, we must make for