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1? THE LThe Family j n:u:m;nmm::mminnnnmma; WHICH ARE YOU? No! the two kinds of people on earth that I mean Are the people who lift and the people who lean. Wherever you go, you will find the world's masses Are always divided in just these two classes. And, oddly enough, you will find, too, I ween, There is only one lifter to twenty who lean. In which class are you? Are you easing the load Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road? Or are you a leaner, who lets others bear Your portion of labor and worry and care? ?Ella Wheeler Wilcox. THE ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THANKSGIVING PAY. By Juliet Hite Gallaher. This is a day set apart as a public celebration of Divine Goodness, an annual religious festival, suggested by the Hebrew "Feast of the Ingatherings at the end of the year," and originating with the Puritan fathers, who sought refuge and freedom of conscience on the bleak coast of New England, landing there as we know, on Monday, December 21, 1620. These pilgrims, first exiled from England to Holland in 1608, having found men ucsneu uaveu, uy mil ana sacnnce produced bountiful harvests the following year; providing themselves in this vast wilderness with the necessities of life, if not with the luxuries of civilization, for all of which they were most grateful, and on the strength of it decided to observe a day of public thanksgiving; Governor Bradford appointed the day, and history tells us that he sent four men into the forests in search of game for the feast which was to follow, which fact is responsible today for the turkey being our national Thanksgiving game, "the" piece de resistance on this menu, although our forests no longer teem with wild turkeys like the Pilgrim fathers ordered for their dinner. Those fathers, after passing through such a siege of suffering am} self-denial, privations and homesickness in a strange country, all patiently borne for their conscience sake, felt their hearts warm to ward their Creator and their new home, when they beheld the fruits of their toil, as symbolid of the great blessings which the future held in store for them, and they accordingly observed the dav as on? in which to give thanks to the Giver of all good gifts. July, 1723, was appointed as a day of fasting and prayer during the great drought, and as rain fell while they were praying for it, the governor appointed a : PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOU special Thanksgiving day to be observed with religious services. In the colonies the days were appointed upon the arrival of ships carrying sup pnes ana me new colonists, also tor tne autumn harvest; we find that June, 1632, Gov. Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay colony appointed a Thanksgiving day on account of the action of the British Privy Council favorable to the colonists. We also find the English governors of New York and the Dutch governors of New Netherlands holding Thanksgiving services. During the Revolutionary War Congress appointed the first National Thanksgiving Day, which was annually recommended by Congress until the general Thanksgiving for peace, 1784; from then it was not held again until 1789, when President Washington appointed a Thanksgiving Day for the adoption of the Constitution. The old Episcopal prayer books recom mended the first Thursday in November as a day of Thanksgiving. In 1817 the governor of New York regularly appointed a day, and we find that Governor Johnston of Virginia recommended such a day in 1857; in 1858, Thanksgiving was publicly observed in eight of the Southern States. A number of proclamations were issued by President Lincoln during the War between the States, and from that time to the present day the proclamation has been made by the president of the United States; the governors of the States, and the mayors of the cities; the date selected being the last Thursday of November. A A ^ ? ' - " ~ " ai mis ?euson me neias Dave yielded their grains, the fruits have been gathered and garnered and all of nature's bounty has been stored away for the comfort of mankind during the severe months to come. Throughout America religious services are held at the churches on this day and they are generally amongst the most impressive ones known; in many churches the attendants are requested to bring or send contributions to be disbursed amongst their less fortunate brethren. It is a day of thankfulness, not for the benefits forgot, but in the fullest sense of the word "For Benefits Received"; a day symbolic of home and home ties, and while not divinely appointed is a simple expression of the nation's gratitude for all heaven-sent gifts and a public recognition and appreciation of them. Waynesboro, Va. Perfection is not produced by pruning alone, unless there be growth after the pruning. But pruning is intended to promote growth by concentrating the power of growth into the parts that need it most. When God prunes our lives and parts us from some unlovely trait" or some unbecoming growth, his purpose is that we may be brought nearer to perfection. God's ways are good, even when tney cause us pain. 6ood Intentions will not save the man who, despising the warning, steps over the precipice. TH. November 17, igog. STORY OF A HOMELY LITTLE PRINCESS. unce upon a time?only you must not think this is a fairy story?there was a little princess growing up in a great palace, who was destined to occupy a very high and important station and exercise a great influence in life. Princesses are always supposed to be beautiful. but this one was not at all so. On the contrary, she was decidedly plain, with homely features and a small, insignificant figure. But she was gifted with a lot of good common sense, she was bright, well educated, and vivacious, and she was thoroughly good. Her name was Charlotte Sophia, and she was the daughter of a petty German prince, a second son of the Duke of MecklenbergStrelitz. ' Did you ever hear of her? She is well worth knowing for more than one reason, one of the least being that she was ? Queen of England and the mother of a great family of English princes and princesses. The story of her marriage to George III of England has a touch of romance in it, and is one of the "bits" of history that will interest young people; for it is almost as simple and delightful a pastoral as the Bible story of Ruth and Boaz. As I have said, the Princess Charlotte was a very bright and intelligent girl, well educated and accomplished. When Frederick the Great was overrunning and desolating the German provinces after his victory at Targeau, she was sixteen years old, Just budding into womanhood. Her sympathetic soul was touched by the horrors and miseries of the German land that she knew and loved. In a moment of impulse she sat down and wrote a letter of protest, denouncing war and praising the charms of peace, which was forwarded to the Prussian conqueror. It was a strange thing for a young girl to do; but it was a beautiful letter admirably written, without a single blot, and reflected a great deal of credit upon both the heart and mind of the little princess. In fact, when the letter was published, it was read by a certain prince just entering upon manhood, who exclaimed: "This is the lady whom I shall select for my consort; here are lasting beauties on which the man who has any mind may feast and not be satisfied. She is fitted to be the queen of any nation upon earth." The prince was George of Wales, who in less than two months was f.onron Til ISi - " * ? -* v.vU.Bv ?, mug ui ureal Britain and Ireland. He made good his assertion, and, like the prince in the story book, he sent over the sea at once for his princess. The sixteen year old princess was playing one day with her young companions In the gardens of the ducal palace at Strelitz. In some of their romping games, the gay young girls began to kossId about who their future husbands would be. "I shall never marry," said Charlotte. "I am such a homely little thing, no person would have me." The postman's horn sounded at that moment "There comes your sweetheart.