Show cow ae I 1 e 00 cu A HATE ehll good old deacon phipps was in the ya habit of saying whenever he saw baw an automobile sla from the first moment the I 1 new invention appeared be scaring ring his bis steady old horses almost almos j to death and breaking up one ot of hla his beat farm wagons deacon phipps had no patience with any kind hind of a motor vehicle As time went on and many ot of hla hir neighbors bought automobiles his bis horses became wonted to them oud and turned never a hair when they whizzed by but the good deacon did not relent whenever one passed him on the road throwing perhaps a shower ot of dust or mud upon his modest carriage and leaving behind it a trail of ill odor he would mutter under his breath words which no good deacon should ever over ever use the deacon and life hla wife grew old and their six children all married excepting rhoda the youngest who stayed at home to take caro ot of them the tour four sons were prosperous and tile the older daughter had married a very rich man and lived one hundred 0 or r more miles away two sons had he be come farmers and lived quite near one was a merchant in a large town perhaps fifty miles distant dl slant the fourth one was a minister settled in tile the same town with the merchant brother to the infinite disgust of deacon phipps all of these sons excepting the minister owned automobiles and thomas the fil merchant erchant actually sported three or four when his father found this out lio ho came abc almost to tile point of breaking oft off relations with thomas in the old days tile the family had used to gath gather er on the day before thanksgiving and the large airy chambers of the ilie ample phipps homestead could accommodate them all now new the ch children ildron and the grandc grandchildren lill had increased lit in number nimber until such gatherings were no longer possible the uncles and aunts had died or had become infirm there bad been some pretty lonely thanksgivings at the hospitable phipps farm it was during the wook week before the tha great day that deacon phipps was bitting before the open hire are in his big comfortable groom and pondering in over this melancholy fact act raint right he grumbled to his wentlo wife who bat knitting beside ilm alm taint Tal nt right to have families scattered mattered so at thanksgiving I 1 wish ve folks all together ausan jut more hero here you an I 1 are vorgin onto eighty an we faint lad our folks folka all together tor for coln on en an year now heros this great bouse ionin room fit to seat thirty an this oom to spill over into for KB as many nore and countin sister judy an brother den all the sister an brother yeve weve got left bless omi except bety an tied to the house by her aboken hip an altars will be its vely ell p pit at f together og ether they only count up forty one but wo we cant got get cm together well ho he mused on well try to get a dozen or so of om am an call it a family party but you an I 1 an rhody a an the help aro are strong an hearty an all could take care or 0 em am all it they would only come but I 1 dont see any way no there any way wak sighed hla his good wife but you oughter aughter complain silas yeve got a sight eight 0 blessings bless bles lna sins an wed oughter aughter think 0 the those e weve got an not banker alter after thoo we wa cant have which was good doctrine th though on gh it could not quite stop tho the deacons grumbling miss rhoda phipps was quite equal to tho the task of taking care ot of tile the old people A strong woman helped her in tile the kitchen and there were neighbors near by who were ready it to 0 do extra exam work job the iho good middle aged man who had bad taken care of the horses for many a year was no mean hand band at household as an well as stable service and at this ahlo special thanksgiving season beason miss rhoda kept hopt them oil all busy until the pantries were piled thick with dainties mrs phipps thought that thora there was too much food prepared why rhoda what do we want with twenty apple plea pies and six sit turkeys and ten chicken pies and a galton gallon of 0 cranberry sauce the she cried ta ill I 1 deacon phipps was restlessly restless peering up tho the road we never in trio trie world can cat them up before they bey spoilt As near as I 1 can make out there aro are only about ton coming anyway but miss rhoda aad said sho she would risk it and laughed her mother back to her post beside tile tho tiro dy by ten thanksgiving morning the whole farmhouse was in order aunt judy and uncle don den had promised to como come early and so BO had bad son eoa john and his family deacon phipps was waa resti restlessly essly peering up the road long before the prop proper or timo time end mrs birs PhIPPS was almost a an impe tient as he be 1 i presently t brow ot of wo tho blu bill camo came a great touring car tho the deacon scowled but as ho heard first tho sweet gabriel horn and then tho the rough roar ot of the klazon klaxon his face relaxed a little who wore were in the car it was not tho the family of son BOH john surely it was thomas and his minister brother with roberal members of their families and airs phipps fair ly cried with joy ns as she aho saw them thero there is another load just behind us they shou tedo oil as they drew draw up bo be tore fore the door another wadi chere were WU a dozen loads before the final toll was taken and when two strong big biff phipps sons lifted out oui from ono of the cushioned limousines poor lamp old aunt detty betty who could not have dreamed of coming in anything except such a softly padded vehicle tho the tears tear were dropping all over mother best white lao jabot such a thanksgiving every sin glo gle ono one of the phipps children and grandchildren was therel there the good deacons voice trembled bled with joy as lie he asked tho the blessing and poured out his bis thanks before led god but you know father said thomas phipps slyly there are several of us who possibly have come it if it ha ant been for those automobiles that you late hate so BO tho the deacon and bristled a little but in the face of tho loud i merriment which greeted this perfo perfectly ct true reminder hla his tow few rather growling remarks could not be heard you know there really much danger from automobiles nowadays father proceeded thomas philis diplomatically tho the chauffeurs ate are bettor better taught than they used to bo be tho the machines can bs be stopped more easily oh ob lit in every way they aro are improved improved I 1 shouted the deacon un tin able to restrain himself longer you cant pick up a paper without about shochin kin accident through carelessly driven automobiles improved they cant bo be improved they aro are inventions of tho the evil one himself you cant toll tell met mo I 1 road read tho the papers walt wait a minute fa father therl laughed thomas amid the eager looks of all tho the others who evidently full ol oi suppressed excitement we wo well wo wo feel as though wo we all wanted to ta soo see moro more of you and mother than we haye bavo seen ec en lately but wo we dont feel safe bafo to hav har you traveling around on tho the care cara aly more and your horses cant tako take you as aa far au an most moat of us uvo live so we vo have clubbed together and have leavo bought you the strongest and handsomest limousine car that we could find wo we have put a sum at in I 1 in n tb tho a bank to pa pay y for th the 0 keeping of it ito and wo we havo tin had job taught now how to run it you know lie ho has been away a gool good many afternoons well lie ho has been learning how bow to run g car you can trust trist him and now you and a rid mother can heat beat a big soapstone soap soaps tont and climb into your limousine anil and come and see BOO us till all ind and wo we expect you to do it now what do you suy say to that fath father cT what could vio tho old man say eay lie ho turned red stammered looked at his wife who was smiling tIg tignell nill cantly and then had tile tho grace to accept and th ank his hia children for their CO u t 41 aft ft alt of deacon phipps philips neighbors laugh a little when they seo see him blin riding by in his af automobile dut but they are alse enough to sober up whon whim thy thay catch his bla eyo eye |