Jason Elmer Hammond

“ The youth of America who aspire to promote their own and their country’s welfare should never cease to gaze upon his great example, or to remember that the brightest gems in the crown of his immortality, the qualities which uphold his fame on earth and plead for him in heaven, were those which characterized him as the patient, brave, Christian gentleman. In this respect he was a blessing to the whole human race no less than to his own countrymen, to the many millions who annually celebrate the day of his birth. ”

“ The nation lives because you gave it men that loved it better than their own lives. And when a few more days shall have cleared the perils from around the Nation’s brow, and she shall sit in unsullied garments of liberty, with justice upon her forehead, love in her eyes, and truth upon her lips,—she shall not forget those whose blood gave vital currents to her heart, and whose life, given to her. ”

“ It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be dedicated here to do the great task remaining before us; that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. ”

“ The Norwegian Santa is known as "Kristine," and the children leave candles burning in the windows to give her light.
In Belgium, on Christmas eve, the children put their wooden sabots, or shoes, on the window ledge, stuffing them full of oats and hay for the "Santa Claus pony;" in the early morning, when they run on tiptoe to look, finding the fodder all gone and the shoes brimming over with toys and sweetmeats, they clap their hands gleefully and think what fun it would be to wake in time to catch the pony munching his breakfast. ”

“ H. C. BUNNER.
Grandfather Watts used to tell us boys
That a Fourth wa'n't a Fourth without any noise.
He would say, with a thump of his hickory stick,
That it made an American right down sick
To see his sons on the Nation’s day
Sit round in a sort of a listless way.
With no oration and no train-band,
No fire-work show and no root-beer stand,
While his grandsons, before they were out of bibs,
Were ashamed—Great Scott!!—to fire off squibs. ”

“ We are to look at this enlarging elevation of the working classes of men—a fact which may be considered the main index of our age—not as a difficulty to be limited, but as an attainment in which we greatly rejoice. And, if our heraldry is in the hammer and the ax and the awl and the needle, we are to feel it a higher honor than if, in their place, we could have dragons and helmets and cross-bones and skulls. Our country’s greatness is to be the result, not of foreign war, but of domestic peace ”

“ The belfry-tower of the Old North Church,
As it arose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry’s height
A glimmer—and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns.
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet:
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light. ”

“ Spring, with her sunshine and showers, has lifted the wintry mantle from Mother Earth and bid the buds and blossoms come forth in all their fragrance and beauty to fill the outstretched hands of the Union veterans, who, with their sweet spirit of fraternity, will place them above the last resting places of their comrades-in-arms that sleep in the City of Peace—whose boundaries extend from ocean to ocean, from the mountains to the gulf. With tenderness in our hearts let us remember those who sleep where no loving hands can bear them a garland of memory. ”

“ When the world pays willing tribute (and the most ambitious monarch on earth would covet no higher plaudit than that he served his people as faithfully as Washington served America) , it is difficult to fathom the depths of memorial sentiment and place in public view those which are the most worthy of study and appreciative respect. The national life itself throbs through his transmitted life, and the aroma of his grace is as consciously breathed by statesmen and citizens, today as the invisible atmosphere which secures physical vitality and force. ”

“ I love a tree in winter.
Mid snow and ice and cloud,
Waving its long, bare branches
In the north wind, wailing loud.
All—
Let us plant a tree by the wayside,
Plant it with smiles and with tears,
A shade for some weary wanderer,
A hope for the coming years.
This work was published before January 1, 1928, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago. ”

“ Once they were glowing with friendship and love.
Now their great souls have gone soaring above;
Bravely their blood to the nation they gave.
Then in their bosom they found them a grave.
Cover them over—yes, cover them over—
Parent and husband and brother and lover;
Press to your hearts these dead heroes of ours,
And cover them over with beautiful flowers.
One there is sleeping in yonder low tomb.
Worthy the brightest of flow’rets that bloom.
Weakness of womanhood’s life was her part. ”

“ What soldier will forget that the old grandmothers and the girls sat up all night to knit socks, and make shirts and mittens, and send them by carloads down to the boys in blue on Southern battle-fields, with a voiceless prayer and fervent “God bless you” in every one.
What power can conquer the nation where every man and boy, and every woman and girl will throw themselves between their flag and its enemy! Let the future come with its responsibility and its trial. ”

“ We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. ”

“ From the old Scandinavian myth comes the custom of the mistletoe kiss at Yule-tide. The plant must be hung from the ceiling that it may not touch the earth, The kiss is to prove that it is not used for evil purposes, but for peace and love. This mistletoe, once so venerated, so sacred, has earned a conspicuous place among our Christmas evergreens. ”

“ We believe with James W. Patterson that “If all our youth, springing up from whatever nationality, could be brought to know and reflect upon the origin, history and nature of our political institutions, and were early made to realize their cost in treasure and blood and the unspeakable benefits they have conferred upon the American people, we should have the unity and strength of public spirit, and the sensibility to the common reputation and interests that would be stronger than the pride of dominion and a surer defense than armies and navies.” ”

“ And the spark struck out by that steed in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep.
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep.
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders, that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge.
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides. ”

“ The schools should teach patriotism. Independence Day should be celebrated by them in such a manner as to impress its lessons indelibly upon the minds of future citizens; it should be celebrated during the school year, for children can thus be taught its value. I trust every school in our great State will so celebrate this day.—Jason E. Hammond.
“Patriotism is one of the positive lessons to be taught in every school. Everything learned should be flavored with a genuine love of country. Every glorious fact in the nation’s history should be emphasized and lovingly dwelt upon. ”

“ O’er the land today is ringing
Praise of Lincoln’s name;
Childish voices now are singing
And our Flag, in all its beauty,
Chorus:—Yes! we love the name of Lincoln;
Lincoln, good and true;
Under God, he saved the nation ”

“ Germany is the children's paradise through the Christmas season, for this is the true home of the Christmas tree. So many of these are required that the raising of the trees is an extensive industry, and many train loads are carried to the cities in anticipation of the day. The market places appear almost like forests of evergreens that spring up at Christmas time. The tree is usually brought home and concealed in some cool place till the evening of the twenty-third, when it is placed in the most favorable position in the best room and the doors are closed. ”