Democratic Sentinel, Volume 1, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 November 1877 — Curious Thanksgiving Custom. [ARTICLE]

Curious Thanksgiving Custom.

At the annual dinner at Clement’s Inn (London), after the bauquet of that learned society, members and guests rise on the removal of the white cloth and witness the so lowing thanksgiving in pantomime : Before the President of the second table the butler puts a mass of bread, consisting of four loaves adhering to each other by their kissing crusts; taking this mass of bread in his hand, the said President of the second table slowly raises it above his head to the full reach of his arm, and after a few moments’ pause brings it down with a thundering whack on the oaken table. A second time the bread is elevated and struck upon the board. Yet a third time the same feat is performed; and then, before the strangers have liad time to recover from their astonishment, the grave actor has thrown the bread so that it slides and spins down to the bottom of the long table, where it is caught up by the butler, who instantly runs out of the dining-hall with it in his outstretched hands. The whole grace is typical. The four loaves represent the four gospels; the three elevations are in reverence of the three persons of the Sacred Trinity; the manner in which the bread is cast down the table indicates the liberality with which the bread of life was given to mankind; and the alacrity with which the butler ran out of the hall exemplifies the alacrity with which zealous servants hasten to distribute the bread of spiritual knowledge to those who hunger for it.