The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1906-07-15

,
throw away his memoranda on fric
tions and cut loose in one big happ,
family. At tea-time Uncle William in
sisted that Uncle James should sit a
the head of the table, but the Judg
wouldn't hear of any such arrange
ment. and declared that those who ha,
come from a distance should have tn
honors- After supper, sisters Mari,
and Frances sat together on the hair
cloth sofa, planning to sleep togethe
again in the old room up attic they
used to have when they We're girls.
You can have the outside Frances, ,
said Maria
Either side Will suit me. Maria.
said Frances. And John Hopin nudgeC
his wife, and nobody would have beer
surprised. after hearing that fragment
of sofa dialogue. if DIR. Joseph hat
spoken good-naturedly to Cousin NeIls
child, who had almost reached his
teens.
But the accuracy of the data and OF
the marginal notes that John had or
the family-tree sheet began to be cor
roborated on the second day of his va
cation.
1t was Sunday, and Aunt Mary sug-
gested that the twenty-four Joneses
at the reunion ought to go to church
in a body. John Hopin frightened up
fRstinctively and Mrs. Hopin gave him
a meaning look. Four Of the sisters
were on the alert (Betsy hadn't heard)
and Mary, who had the advantage of
being first in the field with the sugges-
ton followed it up by remarking, cas-
ually, that she had spoken to one of
the ushers at the Episcopal church
and asked him to reserve five whole
pews on the broad aisle.
''Oh, die you" said, rather than ask
ed, Aunt Frances in a sort of a way
she had "As we were all brought UP
in the Free Baptist church and went
there together every Sabbath until
some of us got high-toned and had
highfalutin' notions, I think we'd all
better go there today. being as this is
a reunion
John took one quick glancexsat the
family tree and showed it back Into his
pocket as something no longer needed
for constant reference.
Nothing can keen me from going to
my own church. replied Aunt Mary,
rather Jelly, ''and I am sure that the
members of the family who have come
to the gathering from. Boston and Wor-
music would much prefer the Episcopal
church. I think we ought to consider
those who have come from away first
tMusic!' shifted Aunt Maria. ''If you
call that la-la-de-da business music.
don't know what music is. We want
something we all know, and that's
hymns. good old Methodist hymns and
I'd like to know, Mary, if Indiana isn't
inst ia a a RnSfn1 Or W-nr9aC-
ter or New York, and I'm your own
sister, too. And as for you, Frances
Jones, you know we never went to the
Free Baptist when we were growing
up till after that row in the Methodist,
when Ann G. Brown said some folks
could eat a great deal more at dona-
tion-party than they ever donated You
know just as well as you're sitting on
that sofa that we never went inside the
Free Baptist till after that and you're
trying to spoil everything, just as you
always did I says to myself it would
be so before I left Indiana, but I came
on SOS we could be all together once
more, and to keep peace in the family
And 1 knew just how it would be,
Maria Jones. the minute you wrote you
We're coming" replied sister Frances.
Didn't I say SO to you, james,
But brother James. the justice of the
peace handed down judicial decree of
Tut, tuti'' which acted as a temporary
stay of proceedings, and Aunt Julia, of
Boston, took turn. Smiling sweetly,
and waving her hands in slow rhythm
at her three sisters, as if giving them
some form of occult treatment. she
said just like a teacher in elocution:
Mature was the first temple. Let
reunion. Let us all go barefooted into
the orchard, walk to and fro in the long
grass. and take long, deep breaths and
rub the dew on our foreheads.'
Uncle Joseph tapped his forehead ,
significantly, and Uncle William nodded
assent.
John Hopin sketched in a little prinl-
ate swinging from the Boston branch
IF the tree. and then whispered to his
wife that he had simply got to go out
n the yard to laugh. She clutched his
lrm and told him that he had simply
got to wait till he reached New York.
Julia's remark was ignored by her
sisters as something that had never
,een said. 1t wasn't tangible enough
o make any impression on a real old
tones family tiff.
81 knew it would be So" reiterated !
Frances.
ELLEN, have you got room for me to
sleep at Your house tonight" asked
AUNT Maria, addressing a niece. Il
hall go home tomorrow. I would go s
ome today If it wasn't the Sabbath
dethodists never travel on the Sabbath.
% matter what Free Baptists may do s
Then Aunt Maria fiounced out of the
DOM and up to the old attic chamber c
D get her extension bag and reticule, J
Iithout waiting to hear whether Ellen T
ad accommodations for her.
What did Maria say?" asked Aunt il
etsy, who had been getting more un- Ii
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