gup
IT
VOLUME 6.
REYNOLDSV1LLE, PENN'A., WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 1, 1897.
NUMBER 2!).
T1IANKSUIVINCS SERMON
PREACHED BY REV. W. F. REBER
IN THE M. E. CHURCH
On Thursday, November 25th, 1897, to a
Largs Congregation.
"In nvorvtlilini irlve thiinkHi for llil In tin
, III nf (IimI In In W .Ii'xih -i nii-i i ti li 1a you."
I The. A: ID.
There In an Id to bit a Htmtlnit tradition
which lingers In sonus parts of New
Knglund, thnt undertakes. In n general
way, to HCRinint for tho origin of
our Thunk"tfivlnf olMei-vunee. The
story ifoes 'hut In tin? rurly daya of the
olony, tho people somewhere hud hm
scmbled for tho purpose of considering
tlio propriety of setting apart a day of
humiliation and fustlng In view of the
many sorrows and eulumltios through
which they had reeently Ix-en culled to
pns. Tli Ih. however, wax not tln opin
ion of ono iMM-non in the niull'inee who
looked at things from a different view
point. After tlio discussion had gone on
for Hometline. ho arose and ventured I"
suggest the propriety of oountlniJ up the
many mercies and l1t?rint?" 'bat nd
had ho abundantly showered down upon
their pathway. So deeply did ho sue
ceed in ImpivHsltig bin thought, upon
tho mind of thoxo present, that they
eiinchi(led to chur.ge thing about, mid
tliey appointed a day of Thanksgiving
iimtead of n day of mourning, from
thin local clrcuniHtance. the tradition
would have us believe, our Xoveinlwr
Thanksgiving arose. This, howovor. 1
not hlstorlcully correct. Am Is well
known, tho first service of this kind
took place in tho autumn of lU'JI. iilmut
ton monthR aftor the Pilgrim Father
landed at I'lymouth Hoek.
Wo are much mora prone to dwell on
our calamities rather than our blessing
and to cherish a spirit of mourning and
repining rather than one of gratitude
and thanksgiving. Yet, such a spirit
Ih foreign to tho genius of the Christian
religion. A spirit of gladness should
seize every man and woman on Thanks
giving Day. The Church, as on Eustor
morning, should drop its Lenton seri
ousness and burst forth in jubilant
. songs of hearty praise. It has been it
year tn coming, let It ho ushered in
with symphonlo miisio. Tt Is not a day
to enlarge on the spots of our civiliza
tion, or to comment on tho sins and
follies of the nation. It Is a joyous day.
Let us turn to the bright side of life,
and with eyes and ears attunod attempt
to catch the strains and glimpses of the
better day. The whole Bible throbs
and boats ntid surges with tho tntutiscst
ocHtouies of joy from first to lust.
Whenever you meet with a morose,
gloomy Christian, you may rest assured
that thoro is tomcthing wrong. His
health Is bad or his religion is out of
order. Holr to all the sunshine in this
world, holr to every promise in this
dour old Book, heir to u foresight tbm
notes tho sparrow when it falls, anil to
tho Providence which counts tho very
hairs of his head. Ho Is heir ulso to the
glories that are yet to be revealed. With
all this within htm, beneath him, about
him, above hlra, how cun a child of Ond
repine? As ono has said, "Kvery day
should be a note of joy, every week a
bar of music, every month a line of
melody, every year a complete stanza,
and life itself one sweet, long, beautiful
Psalm, prelude to the anthem sung
above. And when wo turn to tho
prophsey of Isaiah what a charming
song greets our car and what a perfect
picture meets our vision. A gifk'd
writer ha phrased it most beautifully:
"The princely son of Annus, with tho
laurel on his brow, tho immortality of
genius In his bosom, sings In a melo
dious way of tho royal reign of heaven
in the soul. His vibrant voice gives
utterance to words electric with the
majesty of great ideas. Visions ecstat
ic unroll before hi in. Id Imagery tho
most beatiful and forcible, he paints the
new Time the redemption of society
upon this earth. He gives his voice
to the hills, bis melody to the
groves and streams, hla Incense to
the flowers. Inanimate nature Is repre
sented as trembling with joy and glad
ness. Instead of thorns to cut and
lacerate, the old prophet saw flr trees,
symbol of beauty, majesty and good
ness. Instead of the brier, be saw the
myrtle with its glossy leaves, Its snowy
blossoms and pleasant odors. Instead
of mountains of misery rearing their
beads, there were mountains clad io
verdure, dripping with wine and flow
ing with milk. Instead of ftreloss,
b readies homes, there were homes of
plenty. Lips unaccustomed to song
were uttering the heavenly hallelujahs."
The prophet evidently had tn mind the
glory and tho ripeness of Messiah's
kingdom. Let us be thankful to-day
for the centuries that are gone and for
what they have so generously contrib
uted to us.
I. Note some of the general grounds
for thanksgiving, it is peculiarly fit
ting for us In Ileynoldsvlllo to closo our
Bibles for a moment, and let geology
speak for a little with her lips of stone.
Wo know that there was an abundance
of plnnts and trees on tho earth during
tho great geologic nges long before man
appeared. Tho full evidence of this Is
seen In the fossil remains yet found In t he
rock and In tho vast coal deposits that
have been carefully stowed away In the
cellars of the earth. During all thut
period there Is, however, no trace of
.ri'ii I n. ,. f tllK..u.l ten..,, til llfiurnr
worthy ot tun name, indeed, tne 010
som Is no essential part of the flower;
stamens and pistils ure alone necessary
for seed, nnd the beautiful corolla Is
vqulred for none of these purposes.
Instunlly. when man was created, how
ever, all the grains and fruits nnd flow
ers cume on tho earth and went forth In
procession to meet and greet lutii at his
appearing. A beautiful picture this
that selenoo h-lng before us! Our
Father above has spread out n table in
the wilderness for his newly-arrived
guest, nnd furnished that table with
tho choicest food, unil heasd It up with
tho richest fruit and wreathed nnd
ndorncd it with tho rarest flowers, and
man euine and sat down lit. this table,
and bowed his hem! nnd worshipped.
This Is where geology finds her Hrst
Thanksgiving service. Now open nt
the beginning of our Bibles. "Behold!
I have given you every herb-bearing
seed which Is upon the face of all tho
earth, and every tree in which Is tho
fruit of a tree yielding seed to you It
shnll he for meat." So that geology
lieeomes n commentary on Genesis, nnd
they both tell the ono wondrous story.
AH tho plenty stored up In the grana
ries of the world to-day are as truly
(iod's gift of lovo to man us were the
miraculous supplies wrought by Christ
when He was on earth. In the small
supply of seed grain multiplied into
tho abundant harvests that have just
been waving golden over every valley
and hillside and plain, wo have had
again wrought bofore our eyes, on a
a vastly grander scale, the same miracle
by which tho hungry thousands were
fed on tho greensward by the Galilean
sea. Tho samo miraculous draught
again rewards tho fisherman's toll.
Some ono has said, "Could we only
discern things as they really are, every
mountain would become to us a Sinai
whence Jehovah yet thunders forth His
law; every valley would become to us
vale of Sharon, where the rose and
lilies bloom; every tree would bo to us
a burning bush; every nightly gem of
light would bo to us a Bethlehem stur;
every yea would yot bo tnxldon by tho
Master's feet nnd stilled by his com
mand; wo would And sermons In stones,
books In running brooks, und good In
everything.' "
One thought more before leaving gen
eral consiilerat ions. A suggestive writer
bus called utteutlon to tho unspeukublo
:'cene of utter desolation which present
ed itnelf before Noah when ho camu out
of the hi k on Ararat und stood amid
the wreckage of a perished world.
Would not u fueling of terrible Insecur
ity rise up within him? What is the
use of going out and building cities or
cultivating fields when at any moment
another delugu inuy sweep everything
away before It ? In that uwful hour of
dread and nneirtiilnty, tho patriarch
turned to his Cod und built an altar on
tho mountain top and knelt down beside
tho smoking sucrilicc ond bowed his
head and made supplication. Then
voice spoke out of the troubled sky:
While tho earth romulneth, sued time
and harvest, und cold ami heat, nnd
summer and winter, and day and night,
shall not cease. Each ripened head of
grain from thut duy to this Is a stand
ing witness that Cod has kept his word.
And will he keep covenant with every
blado cf grass In the Held and every
tree In the forest and every bird in the
air and every perishing creature on the
earth, and shall he not keep covenant
with man, created in His own likeness,
redeemed by the blood of His own son,
and heir to immortality? Kvery leaf
and blado and stalk about us should re
buke our unbelief. "Have faith in
God" are the words of the Master.
"The .word ot tho Lord endureth for
ever." Who can behold the miracle ot
God's bounty and His enduring faithful
ness without gratitude ajid wonder?
Let us feel that each harvest has come
as truly and directly from Him as did
the manna which fell In the wilderness,
and lot ua pause to-day to offer Hliu our
warmest thanksgiving.
II. This Thanksgiving Day is pecu
liarly an American Institution, It re
curs at a stated time of each year and
Is obsorved as a nutionul holiday,' Since
the reign of our sainted Lincoln it has
been strictly observed by the nution.
We hud much to cull forth our gratitude
then, but to-day we have still more.
We were a nation shuttered then, to
day wo ure a solid rook. How
ever great our populutlon may uow
be In relation to other nations, It Is
(Continued an 8th ptuje.)
jj .
IP
Colder weather is
our goods wear twice as long
we offer.
See the Men's Suits wo sell at
$5.00 Strictly all wool nnd cut
in the very Intent Fall styles. We
couldn't sell them for less than
8.00 if we had bought them ns
other houses bought theirs. But
we didn't. We bought ours
woolens were away down in
To-day the manufacturers ask
at wholesale for these goods than
we sell them at retail.
Then we have some better ones
t $6.00, 7.00 and $8.00. These
suits are made of stylish, all-wool
Cassimeres, Cheviots ami Meltons,
cut in popular sack styles, lined,
trimmed nnd finished in a splendid
manner. Each suit perfect fitting,
each button hole done with care.
See our big line of Men's Working and Dress
Gloves.
Also our big line of Men's Heavy and Dress Shirts.
Also over 8,000 pairs of Boys' Knee Pants, Iron-clad
and All-wool.
A. D. Deemer k
Wish to call your attention to their new line
of goods, including Fancy Dress Goods of all
the latest designs and patterns, Ladies,'
Misses' and Children's Wraps these have
been selected from the best houses in New
York, Cleveland and Pittsburg, and know
they will be sure to please, not only in ap
pearance, but in price. We also have a full
line of
UNDERWEAR
for ladies, misses and children in Deece-liued
and natural wool. Also Blankets in cotton
and wool, at the very lowest price.
Overcoats,
Boys' Reefers,
and a full line of Gents' Furnishing Goods.
We have faith in the quality of our goods and
have evidence that the people have the same
confidence by the large sale's made, not only
to our Reynoldsville patrons but also to . the
surrounding towns and villages.
All are cordially invited to examine our line
of goods.
SAT
here, Fall nnd Winter Garment
an those Hold by other dealers is
when
price.
more
m m
Co.
mmmm
'. i i te-? A. i
V
I
are needed. Here's the place
In itself conclusive evidence of
Overcoats
That ExggI in Stule and Quality. That's the kind we
have, the kind we built our reputation on. We have
them from
$3.50 to $15.00
They arc. made of medium and heavy-weight Meltons,
Cheviots, Kerseys, Cassimeres, Mixtures, Etc., all
well trimmed nnd made throughout; in fact, any
' other store in this town will ask you from 2.00 to
84.00 more for these same oven-oats than we sell
them at.
- - PRESERVE YOUR HEALTH - -
Protect yourself against sudden changes in the
common this time of the year, by wearing the pr
Underwear. We have it. Over .'500 cases, all bought by
ns direct from the manufacturers before the recent rise in
prices, Ihese all go on sale
present wholesale figures.
, , .
for men's serviceable
natural wool Under
wear, value 50c.
$1.00
for men's fancy, heavy-weight Underwear, nice
and soft as velvet, 6 different colors, pearl buttcn
finish, value 1.50.
Millirens.
In making a selection
1
of Goods for
Fail and Winter Wear
It is important that the choice should be made from a thor
oughly up-to-date and well assorted stock. Then
there is no possibility of getting goods of
doubtful style. Our offerings of
DRESS GOODS,
LADIES' JACKETS
AND CAPES
t Can be accepted as being absolutely correct, care
having been taken to secure exclusive, but popular
. styles. In every department the articles presented
will be found of a quality to command approval.
Prices are wonderfully Bmall for such value. Such
goods as we have will serve better purpose else
where than on our shelves, and we sacrifice
profits to make quick sales.
to get them. Tho fact that
the matchless inducements
weather, so
proper weight
this week at prices lower than
ICAr for men's extra fine
50C.
pure camel's hair or
natural wool Underwear.
value 75c.
N. ttft'NftU;