The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-13

stand Esaus bargain with hls shre"u
 varseEateG Tribate.
 Poultry yards. barn yard and lot. focks and herds and 'droves havea all yielded their tribute to the occasion. Bakes and fries and stews and barbe- cues are all done and stacked away with recipes known and tested by the house wifery of the neighborhood sfnee long before the war. And though there be, enough provisions packed m their pantries to feed. an army, our good women sleep poorly the night be- fore. wondering if they will have enough to feed the crowd for the two or three great days to come.
 The day Is here, not the this or the that day of the month, but Wednes- day before the, third Sunday is here Messengers and visitors are coming in from all the roads, in all sorts or vehicles and in no sorts.
 Those from a distance seem to drive in first. having come part of the way Intervening before. spending the night with brothers on the road. Wonder, is the pastor of several or the churches across the river. we are already sure of at least one good sermon. With him is a visitor bearing greetings from Sister Association.
 
 his fame is in all the churches, and he will probably occupy the pulpit at the II o'clock hour the second day. Wonder come the wagons filled with chairs, the. chairs filled with folks, and there is the trunk filled with edi- bles, On the trunk @its the housewife, her arms, may be, filled with baoies. Groups of chatting friends are gath cred here and there, and among them Colonel Slmpkins, a good Baptist. who Is running for office and has come to see his Baptist folks for about the first time.
 If fortune smile. there is also the Hon. Bill Johnson, a staunch Metho- dist, to be sure, but who, having an nounced his candidacy for the Legis- lature last week, has suddenly dis covered that he always did love his Baptist brethren, and has come to mingle with them at a time when they are known to practice open communion in fmost notorious fashion. The horses whinny their greetings one to another across the spacious groves. while the unregenerated mules. charm ed to find themselves for once in good startled hills around with the choicest selections from their limited, but strenuous, repertoire.
 But the Moderator has come. is now approaching his throne, shedding his linen duster as he comes, while a thoughtful brother bears along his sad de bags filled with clean linen, a Bible, minutes of the last meeting and other literature good for the saints.
 The letters from the churches tell ing the progress of work have been read, the introductory sermon preached and all are invited, to. dinner. waiting awhile to chat, till the sisters an- nounce it's readiness.
 Now silence all, while Broth CT Thank full asks the blessing, and, then-oh, you benighted city folks, whose knowl- edce of things worth while is bounded on the north by pink teas. on the east by potted ham sandwiches tied with blue ribbon, on the south by cheese straws and lettuce leaves, and on the west by striped ice cream, what do you know. of rows of cake, stacks of pies, and other stacks of custards. piles of biscuit, heaps of fried chicken, baked chicken, stewed chicken, and chicken pie, thos. pious birds. so many of whom are destined to go into the ministry?
 And what of barbeeued shote and lamb and kid and calf has ever en- gagged your mind or delighted your taste? What can you poor victims of refreshments" ever hope to know dDOuL -NiCIudlSs AnQ tyOu WAOS0 CQ- ucation Is confined to functions, the three "G's" Gabble. Gobble. Git, how can you know the full meaning of dinner all day and preaching on the grounds?"
 Worthy Appetites.
 And mark you. the capacities assem- bled around the long table or tables Is none of your raw egg, and grape nut appetites. Do you see the young fel- Iruu Ilrt rH e- h oIding an umbrella over that girl with the jaunty step, the high head, the bright eyes, the rosy cheeks? Right now he is venting his wrath on tn hat she wears which makes him walk off two feet further than the law al- lows and three feet further than his heart desires. But before leaving the tables, he had eaten enough to terrify any house keeper whose pantry is at the grocery and who lives in paper sacks. And the girl, well, she may be in love, but she is not living on 1t during these associational feasts. They are going to spend the recess (not re- cess, please) in Deacon Jones's buggy out wonder in the shade of that old red oak tree. Under the spell of the day she will give the answer he has been begging for since they met two years before at the Mt. Zion Association, and so make arrangements for the estab- lishment of another Baptist Home
 By the way, she is the youngest of the family, out of which had already gone two preachers, three farmers, a lawyer, a doctor and four wives. They are all chips from the old block, though the fate of Mary. the third daughter. is rather sad to relate She married a man who is very broad and liberal in his views. He was sure that one church Is as good as another. So sure was he that he could not under stand why in the name of sense she could- not join his church at once and be done with it. It suited him and suited his sainted mother and to save his life he could not see why it didn't suit Mary Partly to please him. part ly to get peace at home. partly be- cause she didn't know what to do with the children. she finally yielded to the broad and charitable spirit of her hus- band and joined his church. Her heart still turns back occasionally to the old church, but he is happy and she makes no complaint. In passing, I may add that it Is well for him that he did not get that high headed sister of hers sitting out wonder under the old red oak tree. She would not swap religion as some do pocket knives not change her faith every time she got a new husband.
 When your Association meets next year, make your arrangements to go, and mark you, do not come home at night, for by so doing you destroy one of the main features of the meet ing. You injnre both yourself and your brethren unless you go to the place assigned you for the night. You will get there early in the evening, and while the housekeeper prepares