Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 277, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1913 — Page 3

»-y-A, HANKSGIVINGDAY has a long I and curious history and did not originate entirely * with the PllI grime at Plymouth, for ThanksgivofiSjSlga*. ing days are mentioned in the Bible—days set apart for giving Hk la thanks to God for some special Jro mercy. These days of fast and prayer were customary in England 4 before the Reformation, and later the Protestants appointed certain days of praise and thanks for various blessings. The discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 in London brought the common sentiment of Thanksgiving. A scheme had been formed to blow up parliament house on the sth of November, the first day of the session. Great quantities of gunpowder and inflammable material were found concealed in the vaults underneath the building. The plot was discovered and the traitors were executed. In consequence of this deliverance the day was ordered to be kept as “a public thanksgiving to Alfnighty God” every year that “unfeigned thankfulness may never be forgotten, and that all ages to come may yield praises to God’s divine majesty for the same.” All ministers were ordered to say prepers thereon, for which 'special forms were provided. This annual thanksgiving, together with one established later on May 29, was abolished in 1833 in England, for both had fallen into disuse. For several years afterwards, however, these days were recognized in New England by the Episcopal church on account of Its place in their church calendars. England continued, to have special days appointed for giving thanks, and as recently as 1872 there was a day selected for the public to offer prayers of thanksgiving for the recovery of the late King Edward, then prince of Wales, from typhoid fever. The first thanksgiving on the American continent was held by an English minister Earned. Wolfall, and was celebrated off the coast of Newfoundland. This pious man accompanied the Frobisher expedition which brought the first English colony to North America. The log of the ship gives the record of the day’s observances and tells how on Monday, May 28, 1578, aboard the Ayde, jthe men received communion, and how Minister Wolfall in a sermon gave humble and hearty thanks to God for his miraculous deliverance in these dangerous places. This was the first Christian sermon preached inf North American waters. Again in 1607 there was a similar service held at Sagadahoc—a little village on the coast of Maine. There is little record of this thanksgiving except that it consumed only a few hours of the day, after which (he people returned to their labors. The great American Thanksgiving day had its origin in the Massachusetts colony in 1621, and Gov. William Bradford, the first governor of that little band of sturdy pilgrims, sent out the first Thanksgiving proclamation, setting apart a day for prayer and 'rejoicing over the plenteous harvest of that year. The Englishmen recalled their Guy Fawkes thanksgiving, and the Dutch remembered hearing their ancestors speak of the great day of praise and prayer held at Leyden, Holland, in 1578, when that city was delivered from a siege. So, the entire colony began their pious preparation for what proved to be the gayest Thanksgiving the colony ever knew, for after the first one, which lasted several days, the Puritan Thanksgiving meant long sermons, long prayers and long faces. Governor Bradford determined that the initial Thanksgiving should be celebrated with no little ceremony and that feasting should play a part in the occasion. History tells us that he sent out four men, who were to search for game for the feast. Many fowls were shot —in fact, enough to meet the wants of the colony for a week. Wild turkeys predominated, so it seems that the turkey made Its appearance early in the history off Thanksgiving. The day selected was December 13 (old style). At the dawn of that day a small cannon was fired from the hill and a procession was formed near the beach, close to where the Plymouth Rock now rests. Elder Brewster, wearing his ministerial garb and carrying the Bible, led the procession as it moved ’solemnly along the street. The men walked three abreast, with Governor Bradford in the rear. There was a long service in the meeting house, and after it was over there was a dinner —and such a dinner had never been known in the colony, for, apart from the savory turkey and other wild fowl, the women had done their share in providing good things from the limited supply at their command.. The most dramatic incident oocurred when the dinner was In progress, for as If by magic 90 friendly red men, under King Massasoit, appeared, carrying haunches of venison as an addition to the feast Thanksgiving day soon lengthened into for the psalmsinging and feasting, interspersed with war dances, were continued several days. After that Thanksgiving days took on a different aspect, and occurred at any season; sometimes tgjce a year, or sometimes a year or two

THANKSGIVING DAYS PAST and PRESENT

were skipped, just as it pleased the governor of the colony, until 1664, when the day became a formal one in Massachusetts. Other colonies followed the example, and pretty soon all New England joined in giving thanks on the same day. During the Revolutionary war Thanksgiving days became a fashion, and the continental congress set apart at least eight days during one year for that purpose. On December 18, 1777, General Washington issued a proclamation for a general Thanksgiving to be celebrated by the sot

diers 6f the Continental army. In 1789 congress decided to ask the president to issue a proclamation asking the people to suspend work and give thanks on a certain day of the year, There had been considerable opposition to the passage of the bill, some of the reasons given being more humorous than serious. President Washington acquiesced in the wishes of congress and issued a proclamation, appointing November 26 of that year as the day for the American people to join in thanksgiving to God for the care and protection he had given them in their plentiful harvest and freedom from epidemics. From 'time to time our presidents Issued proclamations, but it was generally left to the governors of the states to determine on what, day it should occur. Under the administration of John Adams two national fast days were observed, but no real Thanksgiving. It was not “until 1816,““ after three national fasts~~on account of the war, that another national Thanksgiving was appointed by the president, James Madison. This was due to peace with Great'Britain. After this there was another lull in proclamations as far as presidents were concerned imtil 1849, when President Taylor set a day of fast on August the third on account of the cholera. Meanwhile the national Thanksgiving day seemed to be dying out, except in the* New England states. Then came the Civil war, and the nation was again summoned to fasting, and. two such days were kept in 1861 —January 4 and September 26 —but it was not until 1863 that the horizon had so brightened as to warrant the appointment of a national Thanksgiving. Immediately after the Battle of Gettysburg Mrs. Sarah J. Hale, a Boston woman, wrote to President Lincoln suggesting a national thanksgiving, and following her advice, the president set apart Thursday, August .6, as a day of “praise and prayer.” On November 26 of the same year another Thanksgiving was kept, and this was really a great festival and observed in every* northern state. In 1864 the 24th of November waß kept. After this, with one exception, our great national day of thanks has been celebrated on the last Thursday in November. The presidential proclamations contain very little that is new or original and usually take the form of an essay. In 1898, after the Spanishwar, President McKinley had a chance to vary the conventional form by “giving special thanks for the restoration peace." This was just 100 years after Washington’s proclamation. President Roosevelt, who always did original things, declared “that a Thanksgiving proclamation could not be made a brilliant epigrammatical paVer.” The proclamation of the president stamps the feast with a sort of official character —something possessed by no other holiday. This proclamation does not make it a legal holiday—it merely recommends that the people suspend business for the day. A special statute in each state is required to make the day a legal holiday, and this has not been enacted in every state. The dajr was originally set apart for thanksgiving, fasting, prayer and religious devotions, but the modern Thanksgiving has become a-day of feasting and Jollity, and is made the occasion of all sorts of sports and festivities. The craze for outdoor life keeps many from the churches, although the places of worship continue to be filled with “a goodly company," who give thanks to him “from whom cometh every good and every perfect gift.” The turkey is still king of the Thanksgiving feast and as an addition the good things of the Held and vineyard have been added. The famous pigeon pie, which was a popular Thanksgiving dish in the early part of the nineteenth century, is rarely seen in these days. The wild pigeons, which alighted in great numbers on the buckwheat fields, were enticed by a decoy duck ivith; in a spring net and caught by the hundred. They were kept alive and fattened on grain until the day before Thanksgiving, when they were killed and made into a pie for the Thanksgiving table. Most of the old customs of the day have

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, IND.

passed out of existence. The turkey raffle with dice is still a custom in some parts of the country. Usually the turkey is a tough bird, which was purchased cheap by the proprietor of the saloon (for the raffle usually takes place there). The raffle, of course, draws a crowd of men, who incidentally patronize the bar during the proceedings. Another sportive feature of Thanksgiving no longer in vogue was the shooting match, where live turkeys tied to sticks were used. This cruel practice was abandoned because the New England clergy objected, not on account of ij£ cruelty, but because it kept the men‘away from the church service. This reason seems to fit in with the idea of the men back in the seventeenth century who, While they Were eating a Thanksgiving dinner of venison, discovered that the had been killed on Sunday. They at once sent for the Indian and had him publicly whipped, and also compelled him to return the money which he had been paid for the* deer. This being done, they at once resumed their dinner and finished up the venison. New York city Is responsible for the strangest of all Thanksgiving customs, and one which has only recently died out. Young men and boys used to dress themselves in fantastic garb and parade the streets —hundreds of the boys wearing their Sisters’ old clothes, their faces smeared with paint and their heads covered with wigs. As late as 1885 they held parades and made the street hideous with their thumping drums and blaring trumpets. In 1870 this queer performance took on the dignity of a political parade and prizes were distributed to the companies wearing the most unique clothing. Senator William M. Tweed, the famous political boss of that period, was the donor of a prize of SSOO in gold. This custom was undoubtedly a survival of Guy Fawkes days, carried out on a later day in the year; for some unknown reason it was practiced only in New York city. Thanksgiving has always been a day of charity, and In the old days it was considered bad hick to turn even a tramp from the door, and today (our friendly inns, almshouses and charitable institutions have their turkey dinners, usually gifts from charitable people. Our prisons, too. serve their inmates with a hearty meal some sort of service of praise. The customs of the great national holiday may have changed somewhat, yet the spirit of the first Thanksgiving, which was held at Plymoutlr>4fl. 0621, still hovers about the national day of prayer and praise of the twentieth century—a spirit ot thankfulness to God for his mercy and kindness to the people of our great American republic.

FOR ARRIVING COOKS.

"How will I find the house?" asked the cook, who had booked for Lonelyville. “Can’t go wrong," said her employer. “Our suburb maintains a reception committee at the depot”

Fitted With the Spirit

By REV. JAMES M. GRAY. D. a

Dean of Moody Bible ImOtuto aiOicM*

TEXT—Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 6:18.

in. “What, knew ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, which is in you?” It is also true that when he comes to dwell in the believer, as he does at his regeneration and conversion, he comes to dwell in. him forever - —_ But it seemß to be one thing to be Indwelt by the Spirit, and another to be infilled by him, a distinction met with again and again in the New Testament. Filled With the Spirit. The strong figure used in this chapter gives an idea, of what is meant by being filled with the Spirit. A man intoxicatetd with wine is under control of that which haß entered Into him. His countenance, his walk, his breath, his conversation, his thought, give evidence of it. So are Christians to be filled with the Holy Spirit that their very faces may declare that they “have seen the face of God.” Their conduct should be governed by him, their steps directed, their thoughts controlled by his influence and gracious power. This brings us to the apostle’s practical application of this truth, telling us that when so filled we will manifest the spirit of submissiveness one to another in the fear of God. Wives will be submissive to their husbands as unto the Lord, and husbands will lOve their wives as their own bodies and as Christ loved the church. Let the right - spirit take possession of husband and wife and ‘domestic inis at an end, but the right spirit is only and always God’s Holy Spirit. Children and parents Are next addressed. The child who knows the Lord, and in whom his spirit dwells, will obey his parents because it is Eight to do so. And parents in such a case will not provoke their children to wrath, but “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Solution of Industrial Wars.

Employers and employes come next. The employe who knows Jesus Christ will serve his employer faithfully because he will be serving Christ. There will be no more eye-service there. He will not be looking at the clock for quitting time, nor loafing when the foreman’s back is turned. He is aware that another is keeping the record whose eye is everywhere, and that of him h$ shall receive the reward. But the employer who knows Jesus Christ will act toward his employe correspondingly. He will not be a hard, unappreciative master, knowing that he himself has a master In heaven who is no respecter of persons. Here is the solution of industrial wars. The gospel can do wbat unions and amalgamations and strikes and lockouts can never do. The truest patriots and philanthropists are the men and women in our pulpits, our mission halls, and on the street corners testifying to the saving and keeping power of the Son of God. In other words it is not ‘‘social service” that the world so much needs today as it is salvation. “social service” movement Is good, and has a large constituency and large financial support. Several wellknown millionaires have each given a larger sum Within a few years, for educational and philanthropic enterprises than all which is spent annually for the support of the whole number of Christian churches in the United States. Organizations and agencies for social betterment are multiplying today to “ a bewildering extent. There is an agency to meet almost every kind of distress of man, woman or child, we are glad of it, but as a careful and wide observer has affirmed, “the more closely the facts are examined the more apparent the Inadequacy' 1 and ineffectiveness of the measure thus employed.” And he goes on to ask, “As the limitations of social effort thus become more sharply defined, is it out of place to suggest that there may be a factor in the problem of great significance which has been hi most entirely neglected?" That factor, we believe, is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Bring men to Christ, and let his Spirit fill them, and all our problems are solved. A man and a nation deteriorate when they lower their standard of right and wrong, when they sacrifice their principles to expediency.— Derek Vane.

The Holy Spirit is not a thing or an Influence, but a divine person, because in the holy scriptures there are ascribed to him the works, attributes and names of a person. This divine person dwells in true believers on Jesus Chrißt. He acts upon them not as a power from without, but as a living reality with-

Practical Fashions

In the latest style this coat can b* made of doth, silk or velvet and trimmed with satin or with fur. It closes quite up to the throat where there is a small collar. The sleeves are regulation and plain, and there is a pep-' lum, which has a panel cut in the back. Fur may replace the collar if preferred. The coat pattern (6414) is cut in sizes 14, 16 and 18 years. Medium size requires 2% yards of 54 inch material, with 1 yard of 24 inch velvet to trim. To orocure this pattern send 10 cents to “Pattern Department," of this paper. Write name and address plainly, ana be sure to give size and number of pattern.

NO. 6414. size TOWN STREET AND NO 3TATB—

GIRL’S PRINCESS SLIP.

This dainty gatment may serve as a petticoat or as a slip for wear under dresses of sheer materials. It has princess front and back, the wide portion joined by seams extending from shoulder to hem. It is provided with full length sleeves which may [ be shortened or omitted :Jtogether. There is also a small ruffle which need not be used. The slip pattern (6360) is cut In sizes 2,4, 6, 8. 10 and 12 years. Medium size requires 2% yards of 36 inch material. To procure this pattern send 10 cents to “Pattern Department,’-’ of this paper. Write name and address plainly, and be sure to give and number of pattern.

NO. 6360. SIZE NAME TOWN STREET AND NO. STATE

Cecil Rhodes a Good Feeder.

Cecil Rhodes’ latest biographer saya that Rhodes was a valiant trencherman —“one might almost call him a gross feeder” —and liked getting the joint in front of him and cutting off great hunks of meat. Though "no drunkard,” he also liked his champagne in a tumbler, tossed off the glass absent-mindedly and would have five or six liqueur glasses of bis favorite Russian kuemm.el after meals. At eleven in the morning he usually, “like Bismarck,” had a flagon ot champagne and stout, or light, Pilsener beer, then Pilsener or bock for lunch, and, wltb the exception of • gin and soda sometimes at sundown, .nothing until dinner. After dinner he often sat at the dining room tablo talking and smoking Innumerable cigarettes until bedtime.

The Usual Sequence.

"1 understand the ndw Brazilian dance, the machuza, is becoming quite the rage.” “Indeed!” “Yes, society will take It up formally at the big dinner-dance tonight." "Then I suppose the police will talte it up officially tomorrow?”

There Are Others.

And, when you come to think of It. It isn’t only the old folks who can’t hear well that laugh at the Iqkea they don’t understand.