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THANKSGIVING DAT
ITS ORIGIN AMONG THE PIL
GRIMS AT PLYMOUTH
Great American Feast Day Is the
Sunday of Our National Year-Significance
of the Fall Festival Senti
ment Is a Far Descended One
Joy Instead of Penance
HIS year hath
been a sorry time
said a hoary head
ed pilgrim The
hand of Provi
dence hath been
heavy upon us and
methinks it were
indeed well to in
stitute a day of
fasting in expia
tion of tilt evil that hath caused this visi
tation of the Lord
It was Plymouth on one dark and rainy
night in the month of October 1G21 when
this remark was made to representatives
of the surviving pilgrims gathered at the
house of one of their number for the ex
press purpose of considering the appoint
ment of ti day of penance for the remis
sion of the tins which had been produc
tive of their hard fate
Aye a sorry time in truth echoed
another his white bequeued head rising
above the little audience as the others
disappeared in it for of the more than
five score of us who disembarked from
the Mayflower last December do not half
now sleep yonder on Coles Hill and once
more on the verge of what we know by
dire experience to be the bitter new world
winter our crops are scant our
Nay Nay good sir quickly inter
jected a white haired black robed woman
the lines of whose pure old face only
seemed to give it an additional beauty
like chasing on silver but mayhap it is
not seemly that I speak out she quickly
added with lowered tone for hath St
Paid not said
Say on mistress say on encouraged
e male voice this is not the house of
God neither a Sunday meeting only a
gathering of neighbors where all who
mind may speak
Then I would add she continued thus
emboldened what I believe to be the
frospel truth that the Lord instead of
chastening hath greatly prospered us
Her voice trembled a little at these words
vision of the three new graves stretch
ing wet and cold under the lowering skies
fif that autumn night rising involuntarily
Into her mind Her hearers too looked at
tor in pitying wonder but after a little
pause she repeated hath greatly pros
pered us For are we not now permitted
X worship Him in spirit and in truth such
as hath not been our privilege for many a
iay before Have we not homes And
though the harvest be scant yet have ye
aot faith that the Lord will maintain His
promise and provide for His own even
as He hath already done in guiding us
kither So in view of these many graces
i day of thanksgiving seems to me more
meet than a day of penance
She sat down For several minutes ut
ter silence reigned in that quaint Puritan
living room Then Gov Bradford rose
ais silver knee buckles glistening in the
candle light and tip toed across the space
4eparating him from the brethren who
first spoke when a whispered consulta
don went on for several minutes more
Presently their conference ended he
ivalked to the fireplace in the far end of
ihe room and turning faced his people
This faithful sister hath shamed us
luoth he and taught us a lesson of brav
ery With her good man gone a stalwart
ton laid low and as likely a lass as ever
pened a pair of blue eyes under Eng
lands blue skies lying too out there on
Doles Hill a sob came from a fiaxen
laired youth in the back of the room
she yet sees reasons for thankfulness
rather than cause for repining We must
tot be outdone by her and instead of sit
ting in sackcloth and ashes we will praise
Bod for His manifold mercies to us and
least rather than fast The forests
iboucd in game though our crops be poor L
iaiu uiiuier snau our young men go ana
find materials for the repast Courage
s better than fear he concluded a sen
timent which was greeted with a hearty
ihorus of Aye ayes
Thus was Thanksgiving day inaugurat
ed a triumph of womanhood and a tri
umph of optimism not only indeed a tri
umph of optimism but a proof that op
timism is itself a triumph for if the day
it mourning had been established how
iong would it have been -observed since
every added year seeing the steady in
crease of good in this land there would
be less and less reason for waiting and
more and more arguments in favor of a
iay of thanks
Two hundred and thirty eight years af
ter the landing of the pilgrims the largest
granite statue of the world was erected
to their memory It stands on a high hill
overlooking Plymouth In the center is
r colossal figure of Faith with a Bible in
her upstretched hand while around her
are clustered a group representing Mor
ality Law Education and Freedom in
looking at which one instinctively endows
the beautiful Faith with the spirit of that
serene old woman who even in adversity
looked with prophetic eyes to the time
when in very truth freedom morality ed
ucation and law should result from her
sublime belief
With the Fourth of July Memorial day
and Washingtons birthday Thanksgiving
dtfsr is one of the four distinctively Amer
ican festivals but though distinctively
American the sentiments that inspire
them Thanksgiving day faith Washing
tons natal day hero worship Memorial
-day love and the Fourth of July patriot
Ism are common to all people of the
earth and only for excellent reasons of
our own have we selected the times when
we ourselves shall celebrate the univer
sal feelings
The Thanksgiving day sentiment is in
deed a far descended one it being an in
heritance from the first races of mankind
of tie elation they felt over natures
yearly largess the American Indians
and other barbaric tribes having to this
day ceremonies of their own in celebration
of autumns bounty As a spirit of re
ligion developed this feeling grew into a
worship of deities that were suposed to
preside over the crops like the beautiful
goddesses Pemeter of the Greeks and
Ceres of the Romans and still later when
mythology bad been cast off remnants of
thesame idea remained in the harvest
homes and shrliai though differently
named festivals of all nations when the
grain garnered and the fruit heaped up
merry makings and dances went on be
eatkihe rays of the harrest moon But
- mmiimmai
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SAY JIMMY WOULDNT YER LIKE TO PULL DER WISH BONES
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it remained for that little band of Ply
mouth pilgrims to give a spiritual signifi
cance to these gala times to provide a
fitting soul for so fair a body an act em
inently in conformity with this religious
people while the American nation at
large many decades later widened this
feeling into one of national import so that
this year instead of fifty five people ob
serving it as was the case in Plymouth
276 years ago 70000000 are participants
in its good cheer
Thought He Was Satan
Upon one of his professional visits
to Washington the late lamented
Hermann the magician and prestidigi
tateur almost caused a stampede
among the ignorant colored people
To this day some of them think that
Satan himself was present in person
upon that occasion
One afternoon Hermann visited the
Centre Market On the pavement out
side of the market it is customary for
several hundred aged colored people
from the surrounding country in Vir
ginia and Maryland to gather on mar
ket day and display their little stocks
of dried herbs for medicinal purposes
wild fruits a few eggs or an ancient
chicken
These are the genuine Virginia ne
groes every one of them an ex slave
They are quaint and picturesque and
as they sit behind their baskets and
trays the old women smoke their pipes
of home grown tobacco and on cold
days light them with a chunk of
fiah from the pans of glowing coals
by which they warm themselves
ijese Ignorant and simple minded
folks qd never heard ot Hermann or
any other sleight-of-hand performer
When he appeared among them in his
long cloak his pointed beard and gen
eral Mephistophelean appearance he
attracted their whole attention When
he took a silver dollar out of the
lighted pipe of one of the old mammys
he created a sensation and when he
began to lift live rabbits pigeons suit
of linen underwear ana other articles
from their pockets he created conster
nation Many of the old men and wom
en gathered up their truck and fled
with loud cries and for once there were
no market day profits for the old folk
Thought He Had Em
C tj TT rTVi J4iSbfi I I
1V 1 foSKW
Miir rL IT
Jones Horror Whats that By gra
cious Ill never drink another drop
iMrf life1
Boy Whats that you said mister
JonesWhy er I ef said that you
must be careful and not let that turkey
drop
Flyinjj Squirrels
The flying squirrel is six inches in
length his wings are merely thin
membranes connecting the fore and
hind legs
Tommy I wish I was president Willie
What would you do first Tommy
Id issue a Thanksgiving proclamation
every month Philadelphia Record
MISS DOROTHYSTHANKSGIVING
L HM
QUIRE EPHRAIM
Drew and his
good wife Prue
They Invited some
guests to dine
And drink to the
health of the
Commonwealth
In a glass of
T ha nksglvlng
wine
Said Ephraim Drew
to his good
wife Prue
When asking
Judge Jona
than Drake
Well ask the young
man his son Jonathan
For my daughter Dorothys sake
The guests came at last to the Squires re
past
Receiving a welcome bland
And Dorothy blushed as Jonathan brushed
With his lips her lily white hand
With wondering eyes at the turkeys size
The guests did exclaim and admire
There were dainties beside boiled baked
stewed and frred
And a big plum pudding on fire
To Jonathans plate by a lucky fate
It chanced that the wishbone fell
Then softly said he to fair Dorothy
My lot shall this wishbone tell
Ill wish you and I when a year slips by
May dine on Thanksgiving Day
With none to oerhear or to interfere
And with all but ourselves away
Then they broke the bone with a stifled
groan
He lost and sighed heavily
To note the glad smile that she wore the
while
So ho asked what her wish might be
She blushed rosy red Well thought she
said
Lest you lose twere surer this way
For me to wish too that your wish come
true
Tour wish for next Thanksgiving Day
Harpers Bazar
A PATRIOTIC THANKSGIVING
It Brings to View a Picture of the
Dark Days of the War
Ask Aunt Barbara she will tell you
all about it said the veteran looking
pathetically at the empty sleeve folded
across his breast
It feaid dear Aunt Barbara smiling
refers to the only time I took my knit
ting work to church It was during the
war and we were knitting socks for the
soldiers We were not veterans then if
we are now and she sighed gently
I was not in it complained the vet
eran
Not with us at that immediate time
But we were a houseful of girls and
when Thanksgiving came that last year
of the war we were busy as bees sending
supplies to our soldiers who were out at
elbows and toes And we had decided
not to go to church as the regular New
England custom is on Thanksgiving Day
but to stay at home and knit However
the minister called the day before Thanks
giving and when he rose to leave said
I hope to see you girls at church to
morrow It will be a special service and
your pew must not be empty
Then sister Kate spoke up saucily and
asked Isnt there as much goodness in
staying at home and knitting socks for our
boys in blue
He looked at her in a sort of dazed
way Poor man he had only two boys
and they both went to the war and never
came back Kate caught a sob in her
throat and begged his forgiveness and
the smile he gave her was like a sunbeam
lighting up a wintry landscape
Bring your knitting along he said
and we knew he meant it and took our
work under our capes intending to knit
on the sly during the sermon which is
always long in New England
But dear me the house was filled
out that its being Thanksgiving Day and
not Sunday a special permit had been
given to those who were knitting for the
soldiers to continue working during the
pyprrises rather than stay at home and
the sight was one to be remembered The
old ladies could knit without taking their
eyes off the minister but when they came
to toe off or bind The heel they forgot
where they were nd it was droll enough
to hear their audible responses slip one
bind two mingled with the click clack of
flying needles I am afraid the sermon
was not appreciated that day but the
unique situation certainly was
Another incident made Yi remember
that Thanksgiving Day We had put our
turkey in the oven to roast and when we
went home it had disappeared Tramps
were hardly known in that locality but
we were fain to believe that some hungry
wayfarer had robbed us of our feast
While we sat at a dinner composed
mostly of vegetables and pies a prankish
youth of the neighborhood brought us a
fine hot turkey with his mothers compli
ments and it was not until a week later
that we learned that it was our own
which he had stolen and returned His
excuse for such a prank was indicative
of the times There dont nobody do
nothin to make fun So we forgave him
his simple practical joke for we too
appreciated the need of fun on a day
given over to festivity
Tell the rest of it Barbara said the
veteran
It was a year later at Thanksgiving
time the rest happened A soldier in a
faded and tattered uniform and lacking
an arm came to our door and asked if
Barbara White lived there As that was
my name I expected to see some one I
knew but the man was a stranger He
gave me a soiled and worn note which
was his letter of introduction
Aunt Barbara stopped her recital in
some embarrassment but she looked at
her veteran and received a nod of en
couragement A
Strange isnt it that a whole life may
be deflected from its natural course by a
trivial incident Who knows however
that the incident may not have been cre
ated purposely for that result I had
written a note on a leaf torn from a hymn
al on that Thanksgiving day in church
and tucked it into the toe of the sock I
was knitting It was a simple message of
good cheer to the soldier to whom the
socks should be apportioned and I signed
it A Well Wisher However in my
haste and flurry I did not look on the re
verse side of the leaf where my name
and address were written in full My
soldier ate his Thajnksgiving dinner at our
house and a year from that day we were
married
Now we are both veterans in gray
said Aunt Barbaras soldier as he fondly
regarded her and in these piping times
of peace we ought to distinguish Thanks
giving Day by such a celebration as has
never been given before make it an
epoch of prosperity hey old comrade
and he tapped Aunt Barbaras shoulder
lovingly
The invitations are out for a gathering
of veterans and this Thanksgiving Day
will be a fitting supplement for that his
toric one when the patriotic girl3 of 65
took their knitting work to church
Thankssivinglets
Fine feathers dont make fat birds
Let us give thanks that we are abie to
give thanks
Its a wise turkey that is a living skele
ton these days
Uneasy lies the head that eats not
wisely but too much
Eat drink and be merry for Friday
youll have a headache
A bird in the refrigerator is worth two
dozen at the butcher shop
Whaf s sauce for the goose is sauce for
the turkey if it is cranberry
The briefest and most heartily enjoyed
proclamation is Dinners ready
Go to the restaurant thou bachelor
consider its ways and get married
Another Cause for Thanks
jvre j6u going to have Aunt Peevish
for Thanksgiving mamma asked little
Ruth who was laboriously jotting down
the things for which she thought she
should be thankful
Not this year dear and the young
hopefil joyfully made another entry
Beating the Record
Mrv Grumpton made her husband a
pumpkin pie four inches thick
What was that for
She wanted to get ahead of the pump
kin pies his Aunt Maria up in Maine used
to make
Johnnies Happiness
Going to observe Thanisgiving at
your house Johnnie
You bei Mamma gave the cook 5
extra stay at home that day-
A FROLIC AT THE FORD
Seography was horrible the sweat we
called it that
Bespoke a common misery when Billy sig
naled Pat
Two stubby grimy fingers uplifting on the
sly
fbereat a wink significant distorted Pat
ricks eye
Lben Billy turned to Cummins and Har
vev and Deoew
To each in turn displaying the mystic fin
gers two
nd lastly condescended while the others
winked in glee
To show the mystic symbol to the least of
all to me
D ecstasy transcending whateer the fu
ture stored
When Billy bade me join him for a frolic
at the ford
Che hours till noon slunk by as if they
knew we wished them past
t seemed as though theyd never go
they did of course at last
ind O how cool the water was and O
how sweet the joy
bhat filled and thrilled the bosom of each
sweaty little boy
5Vhen he had hung his trousers on the
nearest handy bough
And shut his lips and held his nose and
dove to show y how
We ducked and splashed and wrestled we
floated raced and tread
And Billy flopped his feet aloft while
standing on his head
Depew had brought up bottom from the
center of the pool
When Harvey said he reckoned it was
time to go to school
Gee whiz says Billy first to quit
thats something I forgot
An as I live my breeches are twisted in
n knot
Each rushed ashore and scurried to where
his garments hung
Then sudden imprecations arose from
overv to n cue-
While we had wooed the cooling stream
some envious sneak had gone
And tied our shirts and trousers so we
couldnt get em on
Were late says Billy Then says
Pat just take your time to dress
Well fix it sos to wander in at afternoon
recess
An each o y must gather a bunch o
purty flowers
An give em t the teacher er shell keep
y after hours
The teacher worked for slender pay so
far as money went
She prayed and played and pardoned and
sppnied to be content
But when a boy that loved her contrived
to let her know
She looked as if her gratitude was going
to overflow
I guess that she no matter what
When we six boys marched in
Bach one of us a grinning from eyebrows
down to chin
And stopped in turn before her desk and
laid our flowers down
We saw two tears start sudden in the
middle of her frown
As I the last and least of all went by
with hair askew
She stooped and saidr I love you boys
no matter what you do
These flowers whispered Harvey are
not so bad a plan
Shes solid goId said Billy she ought
t been a man
A TRIBUTE 0E SONG
HERE is no place
on earth where
utter helplessness
comes out so-strongly
where the cere
monies in human
use fall sc power
less before the maj
esty of the occa
sion as at a funeral
It need not be that
ones heart shall be
interested The ob
sequies of a stran
ger conducted with
all the pomp and
vanity of church and state with the
melancholy rolling drum of the military
funeral or the gorgeousness of the Ma
sonic regalia apron all are alike inade
quate and unavailing
But once in my life have I witnessed
i ceremony that was as grand and im
pressive as the silent awful occasion
that was ever given to the deacL
I will tell you of a funeral which lin
gers in my memory as the grandest
most solemn and befitting ceremony
that was ever given to the dead
It was rumored many years ago that
a poor widowed woman leading a hard
life of unending labor was called to
part with the one thing dear to her
her only child Mother and daughter
had toiled together for fifteen years
and the only bit of sunshine falling
Into their dark lives was that shed by
their living comnanionshin But tJva
girl had always been sickly Under lfef
heart broken mothers eyes she hs H
faded and wasted away with consuai0t
tion and at last the day came when ti i
wan face failed to answer with its I
ghastly smile the anxious tear blinded
eyes of the mother
The poor young creature was dead
For many months the pair had been
supported by the elder womans sew
ing and it was in the character of em
ployer I had become acquainted with
Mrs Cramp and her story By an occa
sional visit to the awful heights of an
East Side tenement where they lived
by a few books and with some comfort
ing words I had won the lave of the
dying girl Her grateful thoughts turn
ed in her last hours to the small num
ber of friends she possessed and she
besought her mother to notify me of
the day of her funeral and ask m t34
attend
The sxsmmons reached me upon 53 ni
of the wildest days preceding CbiOtfJ
mas A sleet that was not rain and Si 1
viv that was not snow cam pelting
ilrom all points of the compass A wind
I that wailed ia the chimney and howled
- V
in the street told how truly dreadful j
for outdoor purposes was the weatherj
of the day 1 piled the glowing grates
I drew closer the curtains and shut outr
the gloom of the December afternoon
I turned on the gas and sat down de uA
voutly thankful that I had cut all con
nection -with the witched weather
when an installment of it burst In on me
in the shape of Parepa Rosa She was
Euphrosyne Parepa at that time and
the operatic idol of the city Muffled
with tippets flecked with snow glow
ing with the short encounter she had
had with the elements rushing up the
steps from her carriage she threw her
self into an easy chair and proclaimed
the horrors of the outer world to be be
yond description
And even as we congratulated our
selves on the prospect of a delightful
day together there came the summons
for me to go to the humble funeral of
the poor sewing womans daughter I
turned the little tear blotted note over
and groaned
This is terrible said I its just
the one errand that could take me out
to day but I must go And then I
told Parepa the circumstances and
speculated on the length of time I
should be gone and suggested means
of amusement in my absence
But I shall go with you said the
great good hearted creature
Your throat and old Bateinan and
your concert to night I pleaded
If I get another froggy note in my
voice it wont matter much Im hoarso
as a raven now she returned
So she rewound her threat with the
long white comforter pulled on herf
worsted gloves and off in the storm
Ave went together We climbed flight
after flight of narrow dark stairs to
the top floor where the widow dwelt in
a miserable little room not more than
a dozen feet square The canvas baclc
hearse peculiar to the 25 funeral
stood in the street below and the aw
ful cherry stained box with its ruffle
of glazed white muslin stood on uncov
ered trestles in the center of the room
above
There was the mother speechless in
her grief before that box a group of
hard working kindly hearted neigh
bors sitting about It was useless to
say the poor woman was prepared for
the inevitable end it was cold comfort
to speak to her of the daughters re
lease from pain and suffering- The be-
reft creature in hen utter loneliness
was thinking of herself and the awful
fate of the approaching moment when
that box and its precious burden would
be taken away and leave her wholly
alone So therefore with a sympathiz
ing grasp of the poor worn bony hand
we sat silently downi to- attend the
funeral
The undertakers man with a screw
driver in his hand jumped about in the
passage to keep warm The creaky
boots of the minister belonging to the
25 funeral were heard on the stairs
There was a catarrhal conversation
held outside between them as to tho
enormity of the weather and probably
the bad taste of the deceased in select
ing such a bad time to die was dis
cussed Then the minister came in with
a pious sniff and stood revealed a reg
ular Stiggins as to get up a dry self
sufficient man icier than the day and
colder than the storm
He deposited his hat and black gloves
and wet umbrella on the poor little bed
in the corner he slapped his hand vig
orously together he took himself Iil
well merited fashion by the ears and
pulled them into- glowing sensation
and after thawing out for a moment
plunged into business
He rattled merrily through some se
lected sentences from the Bible He
gave us a prayer that sounded like peas
in a dried bladder and he came to
amen with a jerk that brought me up
like a patent snaffle He pulled on hist
old gloves and grabbed his rusty hat
and with his umbrella dripping inky
tears over the well scrubbed floor he
offered a set form of condolence -to the-broken-hearted
mother He told her
of her sin in rebelling against the de
cree of Providence He assured her
that nothing could bring the dead back
He inveighed against the folly of the
wTorld in general and this poor woman
in particular and then he made- a hor
rible blunder and showed he- didnt
know even the sex of the dead by say
ing He cannot come to you but yom
must go to him
This was a settler for Parepa and
myself We looked at the departing
minister in blank astonishiuent
The door swung wide we saw the
screw driver waving in the air as- the
undertakers man held converse with
the clergyman A hush fell on every
body gathered in the little room Not
one word had been uttered of consola
tion of solemn import or befitting the
occasion It was the emptiest hollow
est most unsatisfactory moment I
csor remember
Sae Parepa arose her cloak falling
3Qt her noble figure like mourning
fesgtsy She stood beside that miser
able cherry wood box She looked a
moment on the pinched wasted ashy
face upturned toward hes from
it She laid her soft white hand on the
discolored forehead of the dead girl and
she lifted up that matchless voice in
the beautiful melody
Angels ever bright and fair
Take me oh take her to your care
The screw driver paused in describ
ing an airy circle the wet umbrella
stood pointing down the stairs the two
men with astonished faces were fore
most In a crowd that instantly filled the
passage The noble Vbice swelled to
ward heaven and if ever the choir of
paradise paused to listen to eartha
3K5B H 1WU5 when Parena saner so
iSiSBSSr fcceide that poor dead girl
9b mbJi ever went to her grave ac-
Gaaptnted by a grandear ceremony Toj
this day Parepag glorious tribute of
song rings with solemn melody in my
memory as the only real impressive
funeral service l ever heard
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