Araminta and the Automobile

A weary bank clerk from New York finds his daily commute on the railway a kind of purgatory, and he longs for a more personal way to travel. When the new electric automobile proves affordable, he and his wife Araminta—who loves nature and shares his sense of adventure— decide to invest their savings in the sleek, unheard‑of machine. Their small suburban community, still attached to horses and foot traffic, looks on with suspicion, but the couple sees the car as a promise of speed, independence, and a break from endless newspapers and card games.

The day the automobile arrives, it’s housed in their modest barn and the couple eagerly prepares for its first outing. Araminta climbs in while her husband familiarizes himself with the levers, brakes, and the quiet hum of electric power. Their tentative drive quickly turns comic as the car backs out of the barn, skids through a hen yard and startles the chickens, leaving the couple laughing amid the chaos. Their spirited debut hints at many more escapades on the open road.