St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-09-12
An Englishman in Vermont.


Vermont is the home of the agricul-
tuIdl Yankee. II is he Green Noun
tain (Ncrdmontl State. where the Yam
kec Is more like the EugliShman than
III any Other state. The butfucsS. Gun
ming. energy. haIdti>tcdEe<S. wonder
mcnt. caution, Sclt-lovc. Srlf-valuc and
pcltlnacity "ta \ ork shire or North Lin
c"lu>iIilc farmer can Toe matched and
brought To sample more readily i'll Yer
mont than in amy territory in America
colonizcd 10y English settlers.
Yet scln"ls and churches abound. as
they always will do where female au-
th"ritN has Il NUicc-and there is no
doubt that in Vermont the " lie and the
mother have very penetrating. posi-
tive. >hrill and clalnorouS organ of
speech. There is little or no cNclama-
ti"n about "W"nen's Rights" in this
state. The women have their own
rights and their husbands too, by all
appearances.
This paper l. written from Il country
town at the foot of the Green Noun
talnS. Il pastoral continuation of the
| Allegheny chain. limestone. clothed
| with trees. turf and moss: soothing.
protective. peaceful, and of constant
beauty IN summer and winter.
The towns. tOWnlctS. villages and
hamletS all bear familiar English names
Lincoln, Newhavcn, Shrewsbury. Wal
lingtord, Leicester. Bristol. Rutland.
/ Burlington. CastlctOm. Brandon. Man
chester. Arlington. Whitehall. etc.
and i'll most of them the old English
fashion of laying out Il public park on
green prevails. The main walks and
avenues are lined with rows of ma
/ pies, lines and hecchc>. whose shade III
the heats of summer i Il grateful boon
and rrposc, and adds 10 the quiet
sleepy. homclike look of Il country
town.
None can give themselves better
characters than these NcrmontcrS
| Their men were the "brst and hravcSt
soldiers" III the war. 1hcy were til,
''backbonc of the whole amy" of the
North. The Sped !lcr of the State As
semhly is to this day hammcrirg away
cn the lecture platform. about the death
less doings of the Vermont Brigade. Ne
such business men, clerks. runners
store keepers. tratlickcrs. and pcddlc!,
are to he found ont of Vermont. Tn,
late notorious Jim Fisk. who in impu-
dcnce and dishonesty. lowered above
the gamblers uf Wall street. and the
thieves in the municipality of New
York. came from Il town hard bN Whcr,
j am writing.
To bc "Giccn Mountain girl is an
other name for Il rustic beauty. The
Morgan and Ethan Allen breeds ("
trOtting horses are known to he unri-
/ vailed. The GRANTEES. marbles, states
/ ScrpcntiHCS, minerals. and ores are de
/ clarcd to hc ''incXhaustihle." ''Ncr-
mont. says Il state professor of geolo
gy. lis Il giant whose full proportions
are umdcVelopcd.' "Ncrmont," write
one of the editors of the State Survey
"cXcclS all the other New England
/ states in the agricultural capabilities %
its soil Give lis old Vermont and
New England" cxclaims the Secretary
of the New England Agricultural Soci
cty. ito produce a dollar ont of the
earth over any other land" 1t is easi-
cr to make ii dollar out of farm il
Vermont than III the West" cries /
leading farmer. Col. ID. Nccdham
There is no place like Vermont" ac-
cOriimg to the Rev. President OF the
! University of the state, ito live in, ano
no place nearer heaven to die IN Ano
so on with every thing raised. grown
or manufactured amid the Green Noun
/ tains and their dalcs and plains. ChIl
/ drcu. farm produce. cattle. cheese, law
/ vers. cider. locomotives, Varnlsh, paint
I flowers. sheep. doctors, corn, apples
/ trout. pears. pickcrel: grapes, nuts
uuack medicines. lumber, glass. preach
rrs. pill-hoXcS. sOapStOne or stcatlte
newspapers. slop-pailS. drugs, MOSES
ferns. and wild fruits, maple-slIgal
dogs, and carpenters, all chaiiehS'
competition. and defy Il possible pee
elsewhere i'll New England.
And the wonder is that vast deal
all that is So boastcd and insisted lpo'
is true. SO perSistently was this unde
niable superiority dinned into my ea
that for the first weeks of my stay be
ran to think that | must believe IL 10
Very pcace' sake. and abandon all pr
vate Judgment. But happily, or uh
happily, the natural self-esteem OF 'h
Euglishman is not so easily suouueo
Then came the thought that perhaps.
fair amount of this braggadoclo, as VII
us all. is put on TO cover up denclen
cies. and people who like to impose o
Others Frequently finish by imposing o
themselves. So | resolved on keepih
my own private record, small, persona
superficial. but reliable. c,
Our hotel is as good house OF eii'ti
tainment-I am insensibly practislh
the Optimist tOne-as any orc " -
state. Outside is a marble-hagged p
J. azza a hundred feet long, ana OH III
roof of il q balcony with the same e1