THANKSGIVING SONG. November, 1841. I REMEMBER, I remember, when I was a little boy, with joy; For then Thanksgiving always came with every kind of pie, And I for once could eat my fill, though father did sit by. I remember, I remember, how on Monday they began With rolling paste, and chopping meat, and buttering patty-pan; And proud was I to pound the crackers, or to stone the plums, Or crack the shagbarks with flat-irons that often cracked my thumbs. I remember, I remember, how the two next busy days Kept the kitchen in an uproar, and the oven in a blaze; Till all was done and cleared away by Wednesday's evening skies, And the proud tea-table smoked with four premonitory pies. I remember, I remember, when the morning came at last, How joyfully at breakfast I perceived it was not Fast; But loaded plates and smoking bowls assailed our winking sight, With "Johnny cakes" and chocolate hot, to whet the appetite. I remember, I remember, when the dinner came at last, How, like the kings of Banquo's race, the dishes came and passed: The exhaustless line seemed threatening to run on till crack of doom, While still a voice from every stomach cried, "There yet is room." I remember, I remember, how those lessons in gastronomy Were sometimes mixed with questions upon Latin and astronomy, And in geography how John did once, in accent murky, Reply that Canaan was in Ham, and Paradise in Turkey. I remember, I remember, then, how tight my jacket grew, As if 'twould burst a button off with every breath I drew; And so, to settle all, we boys kicked foot-ball down in town, Or went to see the marksmen try to shoot the tied hens down. I remember, I remember -not- what happened after tea, For we had then no grandfather whom we could go and see; I only know we went to bed when nine o'clock was rung, -And you had better do the same now that my song is sung. THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. A POEM FOR MUSIC. In Two Parts. "Blest pair of sirens, pledges of heaven's joy, To SAMUEL A. ELIOT, Esq. PRESIDENT OF THE BOSTON ACADEMY OF MUSIC, THIS ATTEMPT TO DO SOMETHING FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE IMPORTANT OBJECT, TO WHICH HE HAS SO SUCCESSFULLY DEVOTED HIMSELF, IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS OBLIGED FRIEND, H. WARE, JR. AUTHOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. THE Feast of Tabernacles was one of the three great festivals of the Jewish people. In many respects it was the most remarkable of the three, being celebrated with a pomp of ceremony which is said to have attracted to it the attention of heathen nations, beyond any other solemnity of their law. It took place in the autumn, at the gathering in of the corn harvest and the vintage, and continued for seven days; during which time the people dwelt in booths, formed of branches of trees, to commemorate their ancestors' dwelling in tents in the wilderness. Each day had its appropriate solemnity; but the last was "the great day." It was the day of annual Thanksgiving for the abundance of the earth, and was termed "the feast of in-gathering." It was a season of great exhilaration and rejoicing. It was attended, as the preceding days had been, by the singular and striking ceremony of bringing water from the fountain of Siloam, and pouring it out at the altar with songs of hosanna and dances; and was closed by an illumination of the courts and porches of the Temple.* An attempt has been made, in the following pages, to produce a representation of the imposing scenes in the Temple on this day, which might be adapted to musical recitation and accompaniment. The work was undertaken and written with that view. The author has aimed to be generally faithful to the facts, as far as they are known, and has taken no liberties with the subject, excepting that he has not scrupulously adhered to what may be called its costume. He has freely drawn from those passages of the Old Testament which refer to this festival, but has not sought to confine himself to modes of thought and speech exclusively Jewish. Music adapted to the work has been composed by Mr. Charles Zeuner, who has devoted to it his eminent genius and science, in a manner that cannot fail to gratify those who love the original and beautiful in his high art. Of this the public will soon have an opportunity to judge, as the piece is in preparation for public performance at the Odeon, by the choir of the Boston Academy of Music, and under the direction of the accomplished professors of that institution. may be proper to remark, that the copy here given differs in many passages from that to be performed in the oratorio. It was convenient to the purposes of the composer to make variations and additions for the sake of the musical effect. As the author, how It *See Leviticus xxiii. 34-43. Numbers xxix. 12-40. Deuteronomy xvi. 13-15. Exodus xxiii. 16; xxxiv. 22. Nehemiah viii. 13-18. ever, presumes to hope that the poem may interest his friends, and find favor with some readers, independently of the music, he has desired to exhibit it in its original form, and for that reason has made this separate publication. a THE morning dawns. Its first faint beams betray |