The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-30
A NEW THANKSGIVING.
BY CHARLES EUGENE BANKS. 1905. by Daily story PuD'

BY CHARLES EUGENE BANKS.
 fr,onvrirht. 1905, by Daily Story Pup.
 Col
 It was not altogether the matter oI ' wishbone although that had sometnlns to do with 1t. Psychologists would say that some hereditary strain of prehis- toric savagery in the nature Of syivia Marston responding to the keynote or Its rhythm prompted the action: Wnat- ever was the cause, the results wefe vital to at least three people, ana Who knows where the wave will end!
 The celebration of the Christian Thanksgiving in many househoids mas little of the wild. free abandon wnlch characterized the pagan Feast Of Pien- ty upon which 1t is founded. On the contrary it is ushered In with gloomy solemnity which has its effect on olo and young. The fattened turkey be- comes an offering on the altar Of an angry god rather than happy en. to a bounteous Father. Why snould not everyone dance and sins ana ,esp ]. for ioy when the granaries are fuii 70 bursting and the cellar bins groan with the gifts of the garden? It must he that the spell of those dark and gloomy days of our brave but narrow minded Puritan ancestors still casts it's shadow over this festival wnich they inaugurated. A stranger viewing Thanksgiving feast for the hrst tlnie might well conclude it to be a sacri- ace of unlpitiation to some god or evil. rather than the outpouring or grateful hearts for blessings already Grandpa and Grandma varston were a fine old couple. with the pronounced features of their New England ances. tors. Their ancestors had carved ou. of the primevai forests home, and with the aid of gun and trap had made their small clearings feed ana clothe d numerous and hungry prog eny. The Marston home was DE- rambling affair with many modern ad- ditions to the original structure. Na- tive oaks and naples grew m the DIE dooryard. interspersed with many other transpianted trees and shrubs. Behind the house and at some distance stood big square barn shin- ing with red paint and bristling wHh lightning rods. Cattle and horses were grouped about the long ricks of clover hay. stamping and tossing their neaas in the clear. frosty air. straggnns families of sheep mace wnlte pa.cnss on the dark hillsides. Everywhere were signs of plenty, yet there was apparent a marked rigidness and lack of decora- tion that aroused in the beholder feeling of ionesoYneness not to pc over come by even 90 large and healthiul a company as that now assempleu uhoef | the hospitable roof.
 Ii seems incredible that simple littIe wishborn could affect the order | of so staid and matter-of-fact com nanv as these descendants Of the Marstons gathered from far and near | to celebrate this occasion. But the breaking of a twig has betrayed ar mjAs, a tiny leak has overthrown sreat dams. and human emotions are Iar | 6AnRer- ous than either.
 svivia Marston sat at dinner beside Iobn Cray, a young divinity student | from the city. who had come nither 1 with her cousin, Mabel Cartwright 10 whom he was engaged Sylvia was din,inutive creature with DIE brown l o,,cs and wavy dark hair that clus- tSrsA In nrofusion about rather prom tnent forehead. Her body was ntne
 Na .raceful. her long slender hands hro,vn with sun and tan. ana her cheehs s,vsbed with the color of pure ar ana axnrcise. Her cousin was quite oIi S@rent tyne; tall, well built. cuItureo' neither blonde nor orunette. pu. .,1ro
 nor,ine compromise between the two:
 SDa snolxe but seldom, and then or
 '5s which meant little to her coun-
 oustn whose knowledge or the
 E.,S E was limited to the neighborhood
 ~. ,ybIch she lived and that gained from | rather desultory readlnB.
 rnated between the two girls, John . orov could not but contrast them aho
 ,,onder what would have hapneneo
 aS tbey changed places at oirth'
 WSat would the city have done Tor
 ,ris inpressionable bundle of nerves
 ,, b,s left? What the country Tor ms
 uoserved v" and dfgnified financee7 Tne
 ,nore he thought about it the more m,
 ,arestIng the speculation became: Ana
 from interested speculation on the na- ture of woman to interest in the troman herself is a very snort step
 with inc character of Mabel Cartwright w was more or less familiar SyiVls
 HGarston was a new problem ana there-
 Fore more interesting. even 10 stu- dent of divinity. -,.,...
 Then came the test of the wishbone
 e,,ivia found it on her plate and called
 tt +o the attention of her cousin, Ma haI merely glanced at the fprked bone
 oaised her brows in half inauirine
 oayner and proceeded with her din
 ner Sylvia colored to the roots o'
 her nutbrown tresses. John Graham
 nsairg her embarrassment. thought tt
 oon,e to her relief and asked to breat the bone with her
 "It& silly childish custom l sup
 nos y sylvia said with little hYs terical laugh, fit only for country peo
 ssrii break the bone with you if you'll