Matter For Gratitude

Be pleased,

O Lord, to take a people's

That Thine avenging sword has spared our ranks—That Thou hast parted from our lips the

And forced our neighbors' lips to drink it up.

Father of Mercies, with a heart

We thank Thee that Thou goest south to smite,

And sparest San Francisco's loins, to

Thy lash on Hermosillo's bleeding back—That o'er our homes Thine awful angel

His wings in vain, and Guaymas weeps instead.

We praise Thee,

God, that Yellow Fever

His horrid banner has not dared to rear,

Consumption's jurisdiction to contest,

Her dagger deep in every second breast!

Catarrh and Asthma and Congestive

Attest Thy bounty and perform Thy will.

These native messengers obey Thy call—They summon singly, but they summon all.

Not, as in Mexico's impested clime,

Can Yellow Jack commit recurring crime.

We thank Thee that Thou killest all the time.

Thy tender mercies,

Father, never end:

Upon all heads Thy blessings still descend,

Though their forms vary.

Here the sown seeds

Abundant grain that whitens all the field—There the smit corn stands barren on the plain,

Thrift reaps the straw and Famine gleans in vain.

Here the fat priest to the contented

Points out the contrast and the people sing—There mothers eat their offspring.

Well, at

Thou hast provided offspring for the feast.

An earthquake here rolls harmless through the land,

And Thou art good because the chimneys stand—There templed cities sink into the sea,

And damp survivors, howling as they flee,

Skip to the hills and hold a

In honor of Thy wise discrimination.

O God, forgive them all, from Stoneman down,

Thy smile who construe and expound Thy frown,

And fall with saintly grace upon their

To render thanks when Thou dost only

LY should we be thankful for having escapedthe ravages of the yellow scourge by which our neighborshave been so sorely afflicted."        --Governor Stoneman's Thanksgiving Proclamation