Chapter C: W. Thompson & Company, Boston, for "The Unfurling of the Flag," (2)

So you think all the worlds are discovered now;
All the lands have been charted and sailed about,
Their mountains climbed, their secrets found out;
All the seas have been sailed and their currents known--
To the uttermost isles the winds have blown
They have carried a venturing prow?
Yet there lie all about us new worlds, everywhere,
That await their discoverer's footfall; spread fair
Are electrical worlds that no eye has yet seen,
And mechanical worlds that lie hidden serene
And await their Columbus securely.
There are new worlds in Science and new worlds in Art,
And the boy who will work with his head and his heart
Will discover his new world surely.

COLUMBUS AND THE EGG

One day Columbus was at a dinner which a Spanish gentleman had given in his honor, and several persons were present who were jealous of the great Admiral's success. They were proud, conceited fellows, and they very soon began to try to make Columbus uncomfortable.

"You have discovered strange lands beyond the seas," they said, "but what of that? We do not see why there should be so much said about it. Anybody can sail across the ocean; and anybody can coast along the islands on the other side, just as you have done. It is the simplest thing in the world."

Columbus made no answer; but after a while he took an egg from a dish and said to the company:

"Who among you, gentlemen, can make this egg stand on end?"

One by one those at the table tried the experiment. When the egg had gone entirely around and none had succeeded, all said that it could not be done.

Then Columbus took the egg and struck its small end gently upon the table so as to break the shell a little. After that there was no trouble in making it stand upright.

"Gentlemen," said he, "what is easier than to do this which you said was impossible? It is the simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do it--after he has been shown how!"

COLUMBUS DAY

(_Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Normal School_)

This entertainment is simply an attempt to give a few of the most dramatic incidents in the life of Columbus as connected with his discovery of the New World. Other scenes could be readily added, although it would require some care to avoid an anti-climax.

A. In Spain at the Council of Salamanca

Before this scene is presented give a brief explanation and description of the early life of Columbus and his attempts to obtain aid.

_Characters_: Churchmen and counselors at the court of Spain (seven to ten) and Columbus.

_Costumes_: The _churchmen_ are dressed in long black garments, except two, who have black capes with white underneath. Columbus wears a long, black garment or coat, which plainly shows the poverty of its owner.

_Tableau I--Columbus before the Council at Salamanca_

The characters are arranged somewhat as in a picture of this scene found in the Perry pictures. A picture of this scene is also found in Lossing's History of the United States, volume I. Only the chief characters are shown in this tableau. Three churchmen or counselors are in center near Columbus; two at left, one pointing mockingly, or making fun of Columbus; two stand haughtily in the back, and there may also be two or three at right. Columbus has a partly open roll of parchment in one hand and is pointing with the other. One of the churchmen in the center has an open Bible in his hand, and another has a book which he is holding out to Columbus.

B. On Shipboard

_Characters_: Columbus, the mate, other sailors.

_Costumes_: Columbus, red cape; sailors, sweaters and sailor caps.

_Tableau II--Nearing Land; Columbus and the Mate_

The conversation in Joaquin Miller's "Columbus" takes place between Columbus and mate. The sailors are in the background, one holding a lantern. Between the different parts of his conversation with Columbus, the mate goes to consult with the sailors. The last stanza of the poem is given by some one from the wings. When the reader reaches the line, "A light! A light!" Columbus and the mate change their position. Columbus points and the mate raises his arm, peering forward. (Picture in "Leading Facts of American History," by Montgomery, revised edition. Also in "Stepping Stones of American History.")

C. In the new world

_Characters_: Columbus, three noblemen, eight sailors, six Indians.

_Costumes_: Columbus and the noblemen wear the Spanish costume of the fifteenth century (described later). Sailors wear sweaters and sailor caps made from blue, red or grey cambric. Indians wear Indian suits (nearly all boys have or may obtain them from any clothing store). They carry bows and arrows or tomahawks. The spears and swords for this and the following scene are made from wood, bronzed to look like silver. The tall cross is made of wood and stained with shellac. The banner of the expedition is white, with a green cross. Over the initials F and Y (Ferdinand and Ysabella) are two gilt crowns.

_Tableau III--The landing of Columbus_

The characters are posed from Vanderlyn's painting of the scene in the Capitol at Washington. Reproductions are found in many histories and among the Perry pictures. Columbus holds the banner of the expedition in one hand, and a drawn sword in the other. One of the men has a tall staff with the top in form of a cross; two others hold tall spears. The Indians are peering out at the white men from the sides of the stage; one of them is down on the stage with his head bowed on his hands, worshipping the strangers; the others seem to be full of fear and curiosity.

D. At Barcelona in Spain

Before this scene is presented a description of the reception of Columbus by the king and queen upon his return to Spain is given. This scene is more elaborate than any of the others.

_Characters and costumes_: Queen, red robe, purple figured front; collar and trimmings of ermine. She wears a crown. Ermine is made of cotton with little pieces of black cloth sewed on it, crown of cardboard covered with gilt paper. Dress cheesecloth with a front of silkoline.

King wears purple full, short trousers (trunks), purple doublet, purple cape and gilt crown. The trousers and cape are trimmed with ermine.

The two guards have black trousers (trunks) and red capes, collars, and knee pieces made from silver paper; they wear storm hats covered with silver paper, and carry spears.

The two ladies-in-waiting wear dresses fixed to resemble the dress of the period. They have high headpieces shaped like cornucopias, made from cardboard covered with gilt paper, and with long veils draped over them; this was one style of headpiece worn in the fifteenth century.

The eight churchmen, eight sailors and six Indians are dressed as in previous scenes.

The little page of Columbus is dressed in his own white suit.

Columbus wears grey and red clothing. The ten noblemen wear combinations of bright colors.

The general plan in regard to the dress of the Spanish nobility in the time of Columbus is to have the full, short trousers (trunks) made of one color and slashed with another; the upper garment or doublet made of figured silkoline; the cape of one color lined with another, worn turned back over one shoulder; pointed collars and cuffs of white glazed or silver paper; and soft felt hats with plumes. Each nobleman carries a sword.

The gold brought by the sailors may be made by gilding stones.

_Tableau IV--Reception of Columbus by King and Queen_

In center of stage is raised platform or throne with two or three steps leading up to it: this throne is covered with figured raw silk (yellow and brown). Chairs are placed on throne for king and queen.

The scene is an attempt to represent the reception of Columbus on his return to Spain after his first voyage. (See painting by Ricardo Balaca, the Spanish artist, of Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella at Barcelona.)

A march may be played on the piano while the different characters in the tableau come on the stage and take their proper positions. First the two royal guards march to the throne, taking positions one on each side, so that the king and queen may pass between them in mounting the platform. They are followed by the king and queen, and then the ladies-in-waiting. The king and queen mount the platform and take seats; the ladies wait in front of the platform until the king and queen are seated, then they take positions on each side of the throne. The guards, after the king and queen are seated, take positions on the platform in the rear. All these come as one group in the procession, with only a little space between them.

Next come the churchmen. One of them carries the tall cross. They take their places at the right of the queen.

The Indians come, shuffling across the stage to the extreme left of the king and queen. Of course they know nothing of keeping time to the music or paying homage to royalty.

The sailors march upon the stage, each bringing something from the New World--gold, a stuffed bird, or some product. Each in turn approaches the king and queen, kneels, and then places whatever he carries at the side of the platform, and takes his place on the left.

The noblemen, one by one, come in with great dignity, go to the front of the throne, kneel and salute with their swords. Then they go to the right of the stage.

Finally the music sounds a more triumphal note, announcing the approach of the hero of the occasion. Columbus is preceded by his page, carrying the banner of the expedition. The page kneels to the king and queen, then goes to the left, where he is to stand just back of the place reserved for Columbus.

As Columbus approaches the throne, the king and queen rise and come forward to do him honor. Columbus kneels, kisses the queen's hand, then rises and points out to the king and queen the treasures which his sailors have brought. He also brings forward one of the Indians. The king and queen regard everything with interest. After this, at a signal given on the piano, all kneel to give thanks for the discovery of the New World. The Te Deum Laudamus is chanted or the Doxology is sung.

This is the end of the reception.

* * * * *

This scene may be simplified, if desired, and given in the form of two tableaux. Columbus kneeling before the queen and king and Columbus telling his story may be given separately. There need not be as many characters in the scene. See the picture, "Reception of Columbus" (adapted from the picture by Ricardo Balaca) in "America's Story for American Children," by Mara L. Pratt.

It would be easy to give the substance of this entertainment in any schoolroom and without costumes. Even with these limitations the story of Columbus would become more real to the children in this way than it could be made by any description.

A good description of the reception of Columbus in Spain after his first voyage is given in the "Life of Columbus," by Washington Irving.

A description and picture of the banner of the expedition may be found in Lossing's "History of the United States," volume I.

Music that may be used: "Columbus Song," taken from "1492"; the "New Hail Columbia."

THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA

It was on the morning of Friday, 12th of October, 1492, that Columbus first beheld the New World....

No sooner did he land than he threw himself upon his knees, kissed the earth, and returned thanks to God with tears of joy. His example was followed by the rest, whose hearts indeed overflowed with the same feelings of gratitude.

Columbus then rising drew his sword, displayed the royal standard, and ... took solemn possession in the name of the Castilian sovereigns, giving the island the name of San Salvador. Having complied with the requisite forms and ceremonies, he now called upon all present to take the oath of obedience to him, as admiral and viceroy, representing the persons of the sovereigns.

The feelings of the crew now burst forth in the most extravagant transports.... They thronged around the Admiral in their overflowing zeal. Some embraced him, others kissed his hands. Those who had been most mutinous and turbulent during the voyage, were now most devoted and enthusiastic. Some begged favors of him, as of a man who had already wealth and honors in his gift. Many abject spirits, who had outraged him by their insolence, now crouched as it were at his feet, begging pardon for all the trouble they had caused him, and offering for the future the blindest obedience to his commands.

_Washington Irving_

IMMORTAL MORN

Immortal morn, all hail!
That saw Columbus sail
By Faith alone!
The skies before him bowed,
Back rolled the ocean proud,
And every lifting cloud
With glory shone.

Fair science then was born,
On that celestial morn,
Faith dared the sea;
Triumphant over foes
Then Truth immortal rose,
New heavens to disclose,
And earth to free.

Strong Freedom then came forth,
To liberate the earth
And crown the right;
So walked the pilot bold
Upon the sea of gold,
And darkness backward rolled,
And there was light.

_Hezekiah Butterworth_

All hail, Columbus, discoverer, dreamer, hero, and apostle! We here, of every race and country, recognize the horizon which bounded his vision, and the infinite scope of his genius. The voice of gratitude and praise for all the blessings which have been showered upon mankind by his adventure is limited to no language, but is uttered in every tongue. Neither marble nor brass can fitly form his statue. Continents are his monument, and unnumbered millions, past, present, and to come, who enjoy in their liberties and their happiness the fruits of his faith, will reverently guard and preserve, from century to century, his name and fame.

_Chauncey Mitchell Depew_

Little wonder that the whole world takes from the life of Columbus one of its best-beloved illustrations of the absolute power of faith. To a faithless world he made a proposal, and the world did not hear it. To that faithless world he made it again and again, and at last roused the world to ridicule it and to contradict it. To the same faithless world he still made it year after year; and at last the world said that, when it was ready, it would try if he were right; to which his only reply is that he is ready now, that the world must send him now on the expedition which shall show whether he is right or wrong. The world, tired of his importunity, consents, unwillingly enough, that he shall try the experiment. He tries it; he succeeds; and the world turns round and welcomes him with a welcome which it cannot give to a conqueror. In a moment the grandeur of his plans is admitted, their success is acknowledged, and his place is fixed as one of the great men of history.

Give me white paper!
The sheet you use is black and rough with smears
Of sweat and grime and fraud and blood and tears,
Crossed with the story of men's sins and fears,
Of battle and of famine all those years
When all God's children have forgot their birth
And drudged and fought and died like beasts of earth.

Give me white paper!
One storm-trained seaman listened to the word;
What no man saw he saw, and heard what no man heard.
For answer he compelled the sea
To eager man to tell
The secret she had kept so well;
Left blood and woe and tyranny behind,
Sailing still West that land newborn to find,
For all mankind the unstained page unfurled,
Where God might write anew the story of the world.

_Edward Everett Hale_

"Admiral at the Helm"]

The fame of Columbus is not local or limited. It does not belong to any single country or people. It is the proud possession of the whole civilized world. In all the transactions of history there is no act which for vastness and performance can be compared with the discovery of the continent of America, "the like of which was never done by any man in ancient or in later times."

_James Grant Wilson_

With boldness unmatched, with faith in the teachings of science and of revelation immovable, with patience and perseverance that knew no weariness, with superior skill as a navigator unquestioned, and with a lofty courage unrivaled in the history of the race, Columbus sailed from Palos on the 3d of August, with three vessels, the largest (his flagship) of only ninety feet keel, and provided with four masts, eight anchors, and sixty-six seamen. Passing the Canaries and the blazing peak of Teneriffe, he pushed westward into the "sea of darkness," in defiance of the fierce dragons with which superstition had peopled it, and the prayers and threats of his mutinous seamen, and on the 12th of October landed on one of the Bahama Islands.

_Benson J. Lossing_

COLUMBUS[B]

[B] From complete works of Joaquin Miller, published by the Harr Wagner Publishing Company of San Francisco.

Behind him lay the gray Azores,
Behind the Gates of Hercules;
Before him not the ghost of shores,
Before him only shoreless seas.
The good mate said: "Now must we pray,
For lo! the very stars are gone.
Brave Admiral, speak; what shall I say?"
"Why, say 'Sail on! sail on! and on!'"

"My men grow mutinous day by day;
My men grow ghastly wan and weak."
The stout mate thought of home; a spray
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek.
"What shall I say, brave Admiral, say,
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?"
"Why, you shall say at break of day,
'Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!'"

They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow,
Until at last the blanched mate said:
"Why, now not even God would know
Should I and all my men fall dead.
These very winds forget their way,
For God from these dread seas is gone.
Now speak, brave Admiral, speak and say--"
He said: "Sail on! sail on! and on!"

They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate:
"This mad sea shows his teeth tonight.
He curls his lip, he lies in wait,
He lifts his teeth, as if to bite!
Brave Admiral, say but one good word;
What shall we do when hope is gone?"
The words leapt like a leaping sword:
"Sail on! sail on! sail on! and on!"

Then pale and worn, he paced his deck,
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night,
Of all dark nights! And then a speck--
A light! A light! At last a light!
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled!
It grew to be Time's burst of dawn.
He gained a world; he gave that world
Its grandest lesson: "Oh! sail on!"

_Joaquin Miller_

He failed. He reached to grasp Hesperides,
To track the foot-course of the sun, that flies
Toward some far western couch, and watch its rise--
But fell on unknown sand-reefs, chains, disease.

He won. With splendid daring, from the sea's
Hard, niggard fist he plucked the glittering prize,
And gave a virgin world to Europe's eyes,
Where gold dust choked the streams, and spice the breeze.

He failed fulfillment of the task he planned,
And drooped a weary head on empty hand,
Unconscious of the vaster deed he'd done;
But royal legacy to Ferdinand
He left--a key to doorways gilt with sun--
And proudest title of "World-father" won!

_George W. W. Houghton_

With all the visionary fervor of his imagination, its fondest dreams fell short of the reality. He died in ignorance of the real grandeur of his discovery. Until his last breath, he entertained the idea that he had merely opened a new way to the old resorts of opulent commerce, and had discovered some of the wild regions of the East.... What visions of glory would have broke upon his mind, could he have known that he had indeed discovered a new continent, equal to the whole of the old world in magnitude, and separated by two vast oceans from all of the earth hitherto known by civilized man; and how would his magnanimous spirit have been consoled, amidst the chills of age and cares of penury, the neglect of a fickle public, and the injustice of an ungrateful king, could he have anticipated the splendid empires which were to spread over the beautiful world he had discovered, and the nations, and tongues, and languages, which were to fill its lands with his renown, and to revere and bless his name to the latest posterity!

_Washington Irving_

ON A PORTRAIT OF COLUMBUS

Was this his face, and these the finding eyes
That plucked a new world from the rolling seas?
Who, serving Christ, whom most he sought to please,
Willed the great vision till he saw arise
Man's other home and earthly paradise--
His early thought since first with stalwart knees
He pushed the boat from his young olive trees,
And sailed to wrest the secret of the skies.
He on the waters dared to set his feet,
And through believing planted earth's last race.
What faith in man must in our new world beat,
Thinking how once he saw before his face
The west and all the host of stars retreat
Into the silent infinite of space!

_George Edward Woodberry_

Of no use are the men who study to do exactly as was done before, who can never understand that today is a new day. There never was such a combination as this of ours, and the rules to meet it are not set down in any history. We want men of original perception and original action, who can open their eyes wider than to a nationality--namely, to considerations of benefit to the human race--can act in the interest of civilization; men of elastic, men of moral mind, who can live in the moment and take a step forward. Columbus was no backward-creeping crab, nor was Martin Luther, nor John Adams, nor Patrick Henry, nor Thomas Jefferson; and the Genius or Destiny of America is no log or sluggard, but a man incessantly advancing, as the shadow on the dial's face, or the heavenly body by whose light it is marked.

_Ralph Waldo Emerson_

ADDRESS TO AMERICA

(_From a Commencement Poem, Dartmouth College. 1872_)

As a strong bird on pinions free,
Joyous, the amplest spaces heavenward cleaving,
One song, America, before I go,
I'd sing, o'er all the rest, with trumpet sound,
For thee, the Future.

Sail--sail thy best, Ship of Democracy!
Of value is thy freight--'tis not the Present only,
The Past is also stored in thee!
Thou holdest not the venture of thyself alone--
Not of thy western continent alone;

Earth's résumé entire floats on thy keel, O Ship--
Is steadied by thy spars.
With thee Time voyages in trust,
The antecedent nations sink or swim with thee;
With all their ancient struggles, martyrs, heroes, epics, wars,
Thou bears't the other continents;
Theirs, theirs as much as thine, the destination-port triumphant,
Steer, steer with good strong hand and wary eye--
O helmsman--thou carryest great companions,
Venerable, priestly Asia sails this day with thee,
And royal, feudal Europe sails with thee.

_Walt Whitman_

AMERICA

O mother of a mighty race,
Yet lovely in thy youthful grace!
The elder dames, thy haughty peers,
Admire and hate thy blooming years;
With words of shame
And taunts of scorn they join thy name....

They know not, in their hate and pride,
What virtues with thy children bide;
How true, how good, thy graceful maids
Make bright, like flowers, the valley shades;
What generous men
Spring, like thine oaks, by hill and glen.

What cordial welcomes greet the guest
By thy lone rivers of the West;
How faith is kept, and truth revered,
And man is loved and God is feared,
In woodland homes,
And where the ocean border foams.

There's freedom at thy gates, and rest
For earth's down-trodden and opprest;
A shelter for the hunted head;
For the starved laborer toil and bread.
Power, at thy bounds,
Stops, and calls back his baffled hounds.

O fair young mother! on thy brow
Shall sit a nobler grace than now.
Deep in the brightness of thy skies
The thronging years in glory rise,
And, as they fleet,
Drop strength and riches at thy feet.

Thine eye, with every coming hour,
Shall brighten, and thy form shall tower;
And when thy sisters, elder born,
Would brand thy name with words of scorn,
Before thy eye
Upon their lips the taunt shall die.

_William Cullen Bryant_

THE WESTERN LAND

Great Western land, whose mighty breast
Between two oceans finds its rest,
Begirt by storms on either side,
And washed by strong Pacific tide.
The knowledge of thy wondrous birth
Gave balance to the rounded earth;
In sea of darkness thou didst stand,
Now first in light, great Western land.

In thee the olive and the vine
Unite with hemlock and with pine;
In purest white the southern rose
Repeats the spotless northern snows.
Around thy zone a belt of maize
Rejoices in the sun's hot rays;
And all that Nature could command
She heaped on thee, great Western land.

Great Western land, whose touch makes free,
Advance to perfect liberty,
Till right shall make thy sov'reign might,
And every wrong be crushed from sight.
Behold thy day, thy time is here;
Thy people great, with naught to fear.
God hold thee in His strong right hand,
My well beloved Western land.

_Caroline Hazard_

OUR NATIONAL IDEALS[C]

[C] Used by permission of, and by special arrangement with, Houghton Mifflin Company, the authorized publishers.

Foremost among the ideals which have characterized our national life is the spirit of self-reliance. The very first chapter of our national history records the story of a man, who arose from among the toilers of his time, and whom eighteen years of disappointed hopes could not dismay. It tells how this man, holding out the promise of a new dominion, at last overcame the opposition of royal courtiers, and secured the tardy support of reluctant rulers. And when, at Palos, Columbus flung to the breeze the sails of his frail craft, and ventured upon that unknown ocean from which, according to the belief of his age, there was no hope of return, he displayed the chief characteristic of the American people--the spirit of self-reliance.

What is this spirit? Emerson has expressed it in a sentence: "We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds." This was the spirit which animated that little group of colonists who preferred the unknown hardships of the new world to the certain tyranny of the old; who chose to break old ties, to brave the sea, to face the loneliness and perils of life in a strange land--a land of difficulties and dangers, but a land of liberty and opportunity....

In order that our country may continue this proud record of self-reliance, each one of us has a special obligation. Every citizen in his individual life should live up to the same ideal of self-reliance. The young citizen who relies on himself, who does honest work in school, never cheating or shirking, who is always, ready to do a little more than is actually required of him, who thinks for himself, acts rightly because he loves right actions--such a citizen is doing his part in helping to achieve our national ideal of self-reliance.

_William Backus Guitteau_

I believe in my country. I believe in it because it is made up of my fellow-men--and myself. I can't go back on either of us and be true to my creed. If it isn't the best country in the world it is partly because I am not the kind of a man that I should be.

_Charles Stelzle_

BIBLIOGRAPHY

See Bibliography at end of monograph.

THANKSGIVING DAY

Last Thursday in November

For flowers that bloom about our feet;
For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;
For song of bird, and hum of bee;
For all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

For blue of stream and blue of sky;
For pleasant shade of branches high;
For fragrant air and cooling breeze;
For beauty of the blooming trees,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

_Ralph Waldo Emerson_

THANKSGIVING DAY

ROY L. SHAFFER, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, NEWARK

Among our national holidays Thanksgiving should be a red letter day. We need these days so that the modern tendency of reducing all days to the same mediocre level may be overcome. Such days, when contrasted with common school days, show a wonderful stimulation. Hence it is urged that the celebration of Thanksgiving take on the aspect of the play-festival. The play-festival will have a potent effect on the audience and the actors. The audience will be composed for the most part of the school body and on this body the festival program will have a unifying effect. For this reason it is further urged that an entire grade, or perhaps a group of grades, be employed to render the program. Such a rendition will be treated as a contribution from a part to the whole.

The festival to be effective must bind the entire school into one social group. The response of the audience will be complementary and the spirit and the pride of the school will give forth inspiration to the actor and the audience. The performer must make others feel what he knows, and thus his learning becomes intensified. The result is that the play-festival has two high values, the social and the educational.

The essential problem which arises, and which must be answered by every teacher, is, "What shall be done to provide a good program, and how shall it be done?" The answer will come from a careful survey of the needs, capacities, and make-up of each individual or group of pupils. The answer includes the utilization of the dramatic instinct, i. e., the play instinct, which finds expression through singing, speaking and dancing. The successful festival must be well organized, and this organization must be effected according to a suitable program. (1) The history of the day must be clearly brought to the attention of the pupils. (2) There should be a committee appointed to have supervision of the arranging of the festival. (3) A program full of content should-be arranged. (4) What constitutes the proper program for a Thanksgiving festival should have the careful thought of those in charge. The children should be actual factors in planning the program, as well as in presenting it.

In order that Thanksgiving Day may be celebrated in an appropriate manner it is necessary that its history be fully comprehended by the entire school. Teachers of all grades should use the historic material that will meet the needs and capacities of their pupils. This material should be correlated with as much of the regular school work as may seem advisable. It is essential that the entire school fully appreciate the historic foundations of the day, so that they may comprehend the setting which has so much to do with this holiday. Furthermore, a full comprehension of the history as a background for this festival will stimulate the school audience, so that they will receive from the program those things which we believe they ought to receive from the celebration.

HISTORY

The following extracts relative to the history of Thanksgiving have been selected because they are exceptionally interesting; they show that traditionally the celebration of this holiday is truly American; they also give hints as to the wealth of material that may be woven into a program for the play-festival.

The first year of the Pilgrim settlement, in spite of that awful winter when nearly half of their number perished, had been comparatively successful. The Pilgrims had planted themselves well, and it is easy to understand why this fact should have appealed to the mind of their governor, William Bradford, as an especial reason for proclaiming a season of thanksgiving. The exact date is not certain, but from the records we learn that it was an open air feast. It is evident that it must have occurred in that lovely period of balmy, calm, cool air and soft sunshine which is called Indian Summer, and which may be considered to range between the latter week of October and the latter week of November. It came at the end of the year's harvest. In confirmation, let us quote from the writing of Edward Winslow, thrice governor of the Pilgrims:

"Our corn did prove well; and, God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn, and our barley indifferent good. Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors."

We learn that as a result of this hunting expedition they had many wild turkeys, which the women probably stuffed with beechnuts, and they brought home wood pigeons and partridges in abundance. But, it seems, they must have lacked deer, since the Indians, with their king, Massasoit, volunteered to go out and bring in the venison.

One noteworthy fact is the relations that existed between the Pilgrims and the Indians. At this first Thanksgiving feast King Massasoit and ninety of his warriors were present. They entered heartily into the preparations of thanksgiving. What a cheerful spectacle it must have been to see the Indian guests appearing, carrying a many branched buck or a pretty doe, possibly hung across the stalwart shoulders of some giant red man? Shall one doubt that the Pilgrim gravity was for a moment dispelled, when the Indians approached with their delicious contribution to the feast? Can't we hear the welcoming cheer that arose from the throats of those Englishmen, or the clapping of the hands of the younger women as those Indian athletes entered the camp? It is also recorded that from their Indian guests the Pilgrims received clams, oysters, fish and vegetables. What a feast this must have been!

The warriors remained with the Pilgrims for several days, and contended with them in various games or feats of strength and agility. Perhaps Massasoit unbent from his kingly dignity to show how straight he could send an arrow at some improvised target. Maybe some Puritan maiden laughingly tried her hand on an Indian bow. Possibly, too, in the military drill which Miles Standish with his famous regiment of twenty gave, there was intention on the part of the stout little warrior to show the Indian what a formidable foe the white man might be if provoked. At any rate, the friendship, hallowed by thanksgiving hospitality, continued unbroken for nearly half a century.

What a noble, inspiring picture is the history of this first Thanksgiving Day--a picture of piety, of human brotherhood, and of poetry, for which the universal heart of man, when realizing its profound significance, must gladly and proudly give thanks.

For many years this autumnal "feast of ingathering" was merely an occasional festival, as unexpected prosperity or hoped for aid in adversity moved our Pilgrim fathers to a special act of praise. It was not until after the Revolutionary War that this day took on a national significance. George Washington issued the first proclamation in 1795. This will be read by many with deep interest, especially in view of the fact that some persons believe that a national Thanksgiving proclamation is a recent invention in our country. After this date it was only occasionally observed until 1863. It was our Civil War which awakened our national conscience, and since that time every President of the United States has issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation, which has in turn been issued to the different states by their respective governors.

Thanksgiving is a universal holiday; it is for all the people. As heretofore, each year brings new households, enlarged families, increased affections, comfortable homes, plentiful tables, abundant harvests, a beneficent government, free schools, and religious liberty. There is much to be grateful for in our national history. Whatever may have been our sense of past duty, it is the privilege of all to thank God that He has given us the unexpected and unsought for opportunity to relieve much oppression and to extend the blessings of good government and fair freedom to many millions of people.

It is a wonderful opportunity, and no people on the face of the globe have a stricter sense of duty than our great country. We may be far from perfect if tried by the highest standards, but where shall we find a nation which less desires to rule, and desires to rule more justly, giving liberty to all? We as a generation have lived to see what may be the greatest epoch in the world's history. Truly the seeds of this harvest were sown years ago by our Pilgrim fathers. For such mercies what soul will not raise its thanksgiving to God? Let us as teachers of the state of New Jersey teach our children these great truths, and enter with an open mind and a willing heart into each Thanksgiving festival, and let us all try to inculcate in the hearts of our pupils this significant brotherhood.

THE FESTIVAL COMMITTEE

Let the history of this great Thanksgiving Feast be the background and setting for your play-festival. Let it be the duty of teachers to see that the program for this celebration is inspired by patriotism, by a reverence for God, who has been most gracious to us as a people. For social reasons, it will be well to let some particular grade prepare the program for the festival. The other grades of the school will be in the audience, and thus the whole school will be united into one large social group. Before it is decided which grade shall be selected to prepare the program the principal and teachers should meet and, after talking over the preliminary plans, appoint the festival committee. It is important that the proper kind of machinery for this festival work be constructed. It will be the duty of this special committee to keep in mind such objects of the play-festival as the promotion of a keener appreciation and a more reverent remembrance of great events and great men and women of our history; the promotion of a deep national patriotism; the promotion of a sense of deep gratitude that we live in such a bountiful and beautiful earth. The play-festival should be looked upon as a means of moral, social, cultural and esthetic education.

Keeping these things in mind, the play-festival should be invented almost entirely by the children, who will present the program. Of course this will require the watchful guidance of teachers and committee. A play or program that has been already planned for the occasion may be taken, but even in such a program the scenes should be planned by the class. If this plan is followed almost any of the ready-made plays may be adapted for any grade from the kindergarten to the high school. The wealth of historic material which readily conforms to the Thanksgiving program is abundant. There is no school that cannot act some scene, pantomime, tableau or the like, with but little thought and drill. The results obtained by bringing any class in touch with some of our masterpieces of history, literature, art, music, or sculpture, cannot be easily estimated.

PREPARING THE PROGRAM

A good method of preparing the program is to bring before the class who has been decided upon to render the festival the fact that this grade has been appointed to do this bit of patriotic service. Tell them about the festival, its simple aims; about the historic material on which the day is founded. Have the pupils write their ideas about developing the program. These may be discussed, and the best suggestions can be used about which to form an outline. This is admirable training for the pupils. Not infrequently surprises occur; unsuspected talents are discovered; and often the children who have appeared as dullards in them regular school subjects will take an interest which will lead to salutary results. Many times children will enjoy working on such plans and develop a new interest in their studies. The children should also be asked for suggestions as to developing the stage scenery, costumes, etc. Frequently their suggestions, with slight modifications, have an effectiveness beyond the reach of the teacher. Of course we as teachers must be satisfied with rather crude suggestions, and work up to a satisfactory result.

The stage setting should always be simple, but suggestive. Often a play-festival may be rendered with little or no scenery. In fact, most of our present school programs are given without even a semblance of scenery or decorations. Some simple stage setting, scenery, or decorations will add wonderfully to the effect of your program, and this will be found easy to accomplish. This is particularly true of the Thanksgiving Day program. In the rural districts, especially, can be found the proper materials for this day. Such things as cornstalks, pumpkins, apples, fruits, cereals, and vegetables of many kinds will meet your needs. Whatever is good for a harvest home celebration may be used to celebrate Thanksgiving.

It is desirable, also, to have simple costumes. The teacher should not be burdened with the making of the costumes. Arouse the interest of your class, and they will take home this interest. The result will be that the teacher will get more than he had hoped or suggested.

The work of preparing the music should be done during the period of the day when singing is usually done. The music is very valuable. The whole school appreciates music and singing. It is the one unifying influence within the reach of the school. If all the various classes are used to promote the play-festival a practical correlation of the work of the school may be profitably accomplished.

THE PROGRAM

Below is submitted a type program for the Thanksgiving Day Festival. This is suitable for fifth and sixth grade pupils. This type of program may be easily changed so that it may be rendered by pupils of the first grade or by students of the high school. Care should always be exercised that the plan of the program is easily understood by the class who renders it. Scenes should be molded to meet the needs and capacities of the grade that is to perform. The dialog or monolog should also be adapted to the ages of the pupils who are to do the acting. Below will be found a list of scenes which by thoughtful manipulation may be made to fall within the command of pupils from the kindergarten to the high school. The bibliography given will furnish much information.

THANKSGIVING EXERCISES

_In Charge of Grade VI_

Theme: The Harvest

=Song=--"America," by the school
=Prayer=
=Reading=--"George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1795"
=Song=--"Harvest Home," by the school

=Act I.= Getting ready for seed time
_Scene I._ Indians showing the Pilgrims how to plant corn
_Scene II._ Resting (a camp scene)

Song--"Thanksgiving Day," by the school
Recitation--"Thanksgiving," by a pupil

=Act II.= A corn husking bee (place, a New England barn)
_Scene I._ Husking corn
_Scene II._ The frolic
_Scene III._ Going home

Song--"Star Spangled Banner," by the school

The following scenes may be made appropriate for the different grades by changing the quality and quantity of the scenery. Pantomimes are especially to be recommended for use in our school programs. Many of these scenes will lend themselves to this purpose. Hints for the preparation of these scenes may be gained from the great paintings or their reproductions.

Autumn Memories
The Pilgrims
An Indian Camp
An Indian Village
Miles Standish and his Warriors
The Pilgrim's Town Meeting
The Pilgrims going to Church
The Pilgrims Hunting
The Pilgrims Fishing
The Husking Bee
The Dying Year
Thanksgiving at Home
The Harvest Home (Old English)
The Country Dance
The Love Scene of Priscilla and John Alden
Miles Standish's Home
Many Indian Scenes from Hiawatha
Many Harvest Home Scenes

BIBLIOGRAPHY

See Bibliography at end of monograph.

LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY

February 12

Again thy birthday dawns, O man beloved,
Dawns on the land thy blood was shed to save,
And hearts of millions, by one impulse moved,
Bow and fresh laurels lay upon thy grave.

_Ida Vose Woodbury_

LINCOLN'S BIRTHDAY

CHARLES A. PHILHOWER, SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, WESTFIELD

The observance of Lincoln's birthday as a national holiday has grown steadily until twenty-four states have designated it by statute as a holiday. The great emancipator is today our foremost national hero. His most unusual career from the log cabin to the White House sets ambition and hope of attainment before the most lowly and the most favorably environed alike.

There are many salient reasons why the boys and girls of our schools should study the life of this great hero. He established once and for all time the now inalienable right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all mankind. Early in life he was dubbed by his friends and neighbors with the enviable title of "Honest Abe." On the frontier we find him inuring himself to toil. He was thoroughly acquainted with that slogan always necessary to success, "hard work." His life was pure, untainted with the vices which spring from luxury, the lust for gain, the greed for fame. Simple in living, steadfast in purpose, kindly in spirit, he towered among his fellows, exemplary of that manhood toward which all boys who would be of worth to mankind should aspire.

At the present time it is especially opportune that Lincoln's birthday be celebrated most impressively. The freedom for which we have just been fighting is a greater freedom than that of '61. That was for the freedom of the slave, this for a greater freedom of men already free; that was freedom for a part of mankind, this a freedom for all, for the democracy of the world. The principles for which he stood are the principles for which we must ever stand, but the application of those principles is limitless in its scope. It is for us to see that those who have sacrificed their lives in this great cause shall not have died in vain. It is for the boys and girls in our schools today to carry to a successful issue this great project of making the world safe for democracy and democracy safe for the world, and no small part of this work lies on our shoulders as teachers of boys and girls who will be citizens tomorrow.

The law requires that on the last school day preceding Lincoln's birthday appropriate exercises be held for the development of a high spirit of patriotism. The whole day should center around the life of Lincoln. For the afternoon a special program should be prepared and the parents of the school children invited by special letters written by the pupils of the school. The pupils of each school should assist in working out the program. In some schools, in the upper grades the pupils should be held responsible for much of the work in program making. Each teacher and principal should arrange the work of the day and the special program to one end, that of utilizing the great spirit and profound wisdom of a wonderful man to the establishment of a greater patriotism and the working out of the national problems before us.

The following general suggestions indicate the important factors to be considered in making a Lincoln program.

Point out the significance of the flag salute

Analyze the pledge

Sing patriotic songs

The songs of today
The songs of the past

Study Lincoln's boyhood. His career from the log cabin to the White House is phenomenal

Lincoln the lawyer and politician

Emphasize the work and honesty in the life of Abraham Lincoln

President of the United States and statesman. His great speeches

Read, study and memorize the Gettysburg speech. Each child should have a copy

Learn quotations, and know their meaning and application

Collect a number of pictures of Lincoln

Call special attention to the best statuary

Gutzon Borglum's Lincoln before the Court House in Newark, New Jersey, and the statue by Saint Gaudens in Lincoln Park, Chicago, are the most worthy and should be particularly noted

"O Captain, My Captain," by Whitman, and "The Perfect Tribute," by Mary Shipman Andrews, should be read by the teacher

Do not neglect the great humor in his life; children enjoy a joke

Pupils will enjoy writing acrostics on the name of Lincoln

The Lincoln Highway and the National Lincoln Memorial are recent monuments to the honor of this great man

Let the decorations of the room be in keeping with the celebration

Lincoln posters may be made in the drawing class

The younger pupils will be interested in collecting the stamps with Lincoln's picture

Civil War veterans, Civil War pictures, Civil War newspapers, Civil War correspondence, will make vital contributions in vivifying the life of Lincoln, incidents of the War, and this special observance. Invite veterans to come in and make brief speeches. Request pupils to bring old newspapers, old correspondence, war relics and the like with the assurance that they will be cared for and safely returned

Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N.Y.]

Read letters from boys who were at the front. Collect war pictures from the Sunday newspapers. Remember the boys from your community who went to war. Contrast the present war situation and practices with those of the Civil War. Classroom activity of this kind may continue for the whole week.

SUGGESTIONS FOR USE OF THE MATERIAL WHICH FOLLOWS

Preparatory to the observance of Lincoln's birthday teach carefully and thoroughly the Gettysburg Speech. Each pupil from the fifth grade through the high school ought to know this great masterpiece. Teach the occasion on which it was given, which brought forth this great production, the significance of the speech then and now, and finally have each child give it from memory. A contest in the delivery of Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech would interest the school and the public. The winner should appear on the holiday program.

The placing in schools of Lincoln Memorial Bronze Tablets containing the Gettysburg Speech will give special significance to the observance. This practice should be promoted. Every new school should have its Lincoln Memorial Tablet.

The most interesting persons in the eyes of children are children. They are most concerned with what kind of a boy Lincoln was. Books such as "Life of Abraham Lincoln for Boys and Girls," by C. W. Moores, and "The Boy's Life of Abraham Lincoln," by J. G. Nicolay, should be made available. Pupils should be encouraged to tell to the class what they have found of interest in the accounts of his boyhood. Incidents of his honesty, his desire for learning, and habit of hard work, will be brought forth and no effort should be spared to emphasize these most important characteristics. Strive for enthusiastic admiration, and the imitation of these most desirable qualities will follow.

Stories from his life, incidents in his experience, and periods in his career, such as the twenty-two years on the farm, the twenty-seven years in intellectual pursuits, and the seven years in national service, will give profitable material for work in English. Oral and written reproductions should be taught for some time before the holiday observance and the best of these used on this occasion. Mr. Judd Stewart's suggestions (given on another page) respecting the study of Lincoln's English are very valuable.

Give an exercise or two in acrostic writing with the aim of setting forth in a succinct way his admirable character and laudable accomplishments. A problem of this type appeals to children and has value in it.

The humorous stories of Lincoln should not be neglected. There is great need for high standards of humor, jokes and jests with boys and girls. Every one should be able to tell a good story well. The humor in Lincoln's life presents good material for such teaching.

A study and memorizing of quotations may be begun early in the fall; in fact, such study should be pursued throughout the whole school course. If this is done many pupils will be able to give on February twelfth their choice from among Lincoln's sayings with reasons for their selections and with statements respecting the source of their admiration. Every pupil should have a stock of Lincoln sayings at his command. These selected thoughts should be a part of the thinking of boys and girls.

Readings for the week preceding the holiday observance can be made from the following brief publications:

"Lincoln Centenary Ode," Percy MacKaye
"Commemorative Ode," James Russell Lowell
"Abraham Lincoln," Carl Schurz
"Abraham Lincoln," George Bancroft
"The Perfect Tribute," Mary Shipman Andrews

The selections should be read in their entirety, in most cases by the teacher to the class. If there is a pupil who is a very good reader, such a pupil may do it effectively. Each school library ought to have a good selection of Lincolnia from which the pupils could draw books for outside reading. Books such as these should be read by the class supplemental to the study of the Civil War period.