The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1915-07-22
IA Surprise.

1 Editor Times:
\ 1t so happened that the forty
! sixth birthday Of Mr.. John H.
o Day came on Sunday the 18th
l day Of July, 1915, and therefore
! it also happened that his good
1 wife planned to give him a. s'sar-
prise" So few of the neigh
/ bors were taken into her conf
1 dence and gathered at their
pleasant home on said date to
/ assist in the "surprisin'.' Along
with this came the refreshments
characteristic of such occasions.
and it might aptly be stated that
other and various surprises put
in their appearance as the pre-
gram advanced. The first, of
course, was duly administered
TO the Beneficiary under the
will'-the man of the house -.
Tie next one caught this writer
as his eyes surveyed the vast and
varied amount of good things to
eat--as one guest put it when he
said, you put me in the mind Of
lchabod Crane at the supper
given by his would-be fa,her-ia-
law just prior to his inglnrious
sllidoo' up Sleepy Hollow
and the shaft was so admirably
aimed that I didn' ha The
cheek to deny it, 70" on that
evcntful Sunday morninH aHd
wondered what in the NoriG Vas
going to become of us were
drowned out, no corn. NJ wheat,
no oats, plenty of Enthiny,"
but water, so that when my little
grille told me of our being hon
ored with a notice of the affair,
I naturally had-my misgivings.
Itvnce you will not wonder at my
"surprise' when | saw the table. !
1t was out in the yard under the |
shade trees and was long and
deep and wide, it may have
. yroaned' but | didn't hear it,
(Surprise for the public at any
rate it was loaded down with |
an array of luxuries enough to
make it "groan. l was busy
looking at the scene-smiling
faces. gale attire, spirits of fun
wit and repartee-and to save
this particular table S reputation
in the "groaning" business, [
might in all justice, say that, in
all probability, it did groan. but
the laundering of the artillery of
wits and the fusillade incident toll
the assault on it's treasures were
overpowering, especially the fur.
Gus onslaught led by the heroes
# the occasion-Thomas Arthur
)'Day and Webb Shelhy-on
he ice cream ''ice tea and
AXE. As was said of the charge
f the Light Brigade. it. was mag
lificent (their attack hut it :
yasn' fair. Another big SUR =
rise for all Of us was the
mout of pickles it took to salts {
Y the craving appetite of MIR.
,eorge Ruddell. Mr.. Ruddell
eing a widower caused me to =,
ecall some old lore about love !.
nd pickles, but surely, surely. it
ouldn't have been. Then
mother surprise was staged in I
he "kiddishness' of William !,
[arion Miller-a foxy grand y
apa of mature years-who. to r
Il appearances, was acting the !,
ay Lotharie and playing the :
cry deuce with the affections
the ladies, even under the !,
cry eye Of the patient and gem
e Mrs. Miller, nor did he apply +
lie brakes until a sly and hum
rous matron called him "hon-
r.. This, however. completely
squshed" his daredevil spirit.
I'd it was amusing to see how ;.
lickly he passed from the +
pose'' of RECKLESS blade" to
lat of meek and obedient
hubby" as he took his seat by
RS. Miller.
There were many other sur
Uses and amusing incidents
at came under my eagle eye,
It must have some consider
ion for your many gentle read
s and will say by way Of clos
6, that it was a happy occas-
d, we'll planned and gloriously
ecuted and I make my bow to