Thanksgiving At The Farm

' We are all here to-night. 'Tis the night of ThanksHere's father and mother nnrl dear little Ned Not one has been lort from the laurt of the living hrollftÍVbeSe'da4have passed no has cared na but httle of sorrow has touched or distressed os aflower' tborns üavc been circled wtt " Síap ï'?h on the taWe the f ruitB of Ote season, Xhe choice winter apples, the nnts and the peare And make our Thanksgiving the motive and reason ïo bamth our troubles and drive away cares For the yr ar nearly past has been crowned with inutiou, And the seen we have scattered with laviehina hand Ha8 sprung np and ripened, and in its transition Been gathered zs foocl for a prosperéis land. " Our barns and our corn-cribs are bnrüting with We've all we can use, and perhaps soniewhat more. The year is a Rood one- not one year in twenty So adds to the stock and incroascs the store ! Without, m the barnyard, the cattle are lowtatr rhey re hungry for eupper, and ought to be'fed So, Charlcy, just give them the rank meadow mow' And then tie them up for the night in the ehed. "Well! well! This comfort! Now, isn't it mother ? ' Just see how (hoee children enjoy blind-mau'sDUff ! There ! Kitty and Ned tumble over each other And the way that they scamper is funny enóngh. The candJes are bnght and the fire fliekere cheory The children are full of their laughter and glee,' And all of tbem happy and careless and nierrv Trom Ned, almost man, to that child at yotir knoc. "We've had a great deal of this world aud its Now, haven't we, mother ? I'm thinking to-nieht A ?? hrld h" i?anWul for al1 of "r Pleaurge8 Aud ti y to bear all of our troubles aright And you know, after all, we've had little of' trouble 'PtoeB W"h Ur nei8hbors-f Brow and And the joys of tbis life havcappeared to us doublé When brought mto contrast -viith trial ana croes "I think we are happy- at least we should be so- And bear thankful hearts on thie ïhankseiving We havejiil 'that we need- or at least 't eeems to m If we may not be cheerf ui, just teil us who may ? motherT" ' h ' DW' 8"y' ha eNo answer, whüst wiiaiy without howls the Wast One hand on her eyes, as to shield theni and cover : Her heart is away with tho days which are past. ' She sees by hor side, as m daye long departed, The first bom, sweet Mary, the child thát wa hors, And the laugh of the innocent being, light-hearted The love of the mother awakens and stirs She sees her still later- no innocent malden ' A flower sorely crushed in its beauty and bloom Her hfe with lts bnrden of grief overladen And nothing for her but the rest of the tómb She fhérher bl00d CbÜ1 SS 'he child's iather turnB A heart-broken wanaerer, out from his door "he" frm hÍB tOne8 M hC ourses and 6ínIs Away from Ms home to the desolate moor Long years have passed on, but no word as been P0r c1)1 POr motheI' membrance still Tom'nCt,chi,lc3 of her heart' and can "er be broken Tül the f ouot of affection releaseB its springs. It is ThankBgirtng now, and around her have ered a Her children, with laughter, with music and play And this one alone from her fireside is severed She mourns for the lost one- the lanib gon astray. K Gray-haired is the eire, and the hot hatred burning die?" ais8raced Dim has 6iaoldered anc But his lips ivo no token, he Beeks no returning Nor asks why she lingers away from his side. But somehow, to-night, as the storm whistles dreary The past has returned, and it will not deoart He knows how her heart in her boeom is wëary' He thinks of her Mary- the chüd of her heart Are men, then, so good that with souls unforcivina They in Iheir blindncss forgetting their sin ? O loved one ! come back on this night jf Thaiiksgiving ! And after these yeare he will welcome you in. A tap on the window ; the latch raises Blowly, A woman's form stands in the half-onen door ; Then prone on her face, as one contrite and lowly She sinks humbly down at his feet on the floor ' There is joy in the heavens when one smner repenting, Comes home to the fold of the shepherd to rest There was joy on that night, whcn the father relenting, Stooped slowly, and galhered his child to hls