The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-13
SUNSHINE
 IN ALABAMA
Being the Reflectionr of an Obvious but Optimistic In-
 dividuAl on the DoinG.r of
 Iayville Citizens. ,t.
MENBERRY PHILLIPS.
BY wELLINoToN vANDrvER.

CONVERSION or
 HENBERRY- PHILLRS.
 shortly after Christmas. In 1ssa the Methodist Church In Jayvilis had an un- expected accession. Henberry Philips had herotofore rejected salvation. bus suddenly Henberry entered the fold. Ths facts were that MT. Phillips imagined hina- self a joker, and he prepared elahorafeay to frixhten the ''daylights oEten' youne clerk named Einstein. by induans tns latter to visit the graveyard witn h''n VI Christmas night
 Unfortunately for Henberry. Bud Bat ties overheard the scheme, and Just pte' viousiy to Mir. Phiilips's arrival on tne scene of action, Bud ensconced himself m a diIsnidated tomb on the southwest side of the graveyard and awaited the coming of Henberry.
 Bud Batties's rig would have frightened a brtcx church. He had cut a death head out of . pumpkin; painted the open ings with phosphorus, and trimmed a white sheet with scarlet flannel. In ad- dition to this, MT. Battles rejoiced Tn a voice. whose lower. or chest notes, re- sembied e very sick mule suKering from cholera.
 At 10 o'clock Christmas night the town was startled with a series of agoGiSed war whoops and hoarse yeils In tones re- semblinx Henberry's up in the direction of the graveyard, followed by a multitude of quick sounds as if short blanks were slapped on the ground with cycionic rsa- pidlty. Accompanying this was Q Dumng, wheezing and grunting cloth ripping ano believing the like of which was nevet heard in Jayyille since the dog-n8ht as the cauap meeting. People living alonE the road to the cemetery were sure they heard a hurricane pass in the night that left e strange, sulphurous smell Ine integers in that end of town concluded the day of judgment had arrived ana began praying at the top of their voices. Far son Bulger's dog Bose, went out m ene road to ascertain what was the matter but before Bose could dodge out Of the way a. cross between a Gias-cutus and . moving machine ran over him. Old sol diers who fought all through the war say they never saw such running done on earth as Henperry performed on the ias' half mile stretch down the cemetery road' In fact they claim it wasn't running, bui a judicious admixture of Kangaroo-iop- ing and flying.
 About every fifteen feet Henberry would spring up in the air, look back over his shoulder, and howl as if he was snake bit, and when he hit the ground again his legs would work like an electric churn' Three strands of a barbed wire fence were attached to the bust of Henberry trousers and, while they rose and fell' catching on stumps and trailing over rocks and hanging on to the rear ike Q Princess train, yet these attachments to Henberry's suburb did not appear to fm' pede his velocity. When he passed Grand ma Spraggins's cottage the old lady gave one unearthly screech and went on Into fit lasting three hours.
 After sun up the next morning Henber- ry appeared at Beeson's store and ac- counted for his countenance looking Ike a map of the Panama Canal Dy tne s1a.e- ,ment that his mule had run away with him and throwed him out of the buggy.
 Henberry now sings in the choir, and 1t is whispered around that he iS reading for the ministry.