Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1874-12-07
ssW. CO.
A SKETCH OF CITY AND COUNTRY.

One time, not ever long ago, a Bos-
ton gentleman and his wife determined
on spending their vacation in the coun-
try-even in New Hampshire, in good
farmers family. Early in the season
they had talked over the matter and de-
cided exactly what they wanted and what
they would do; and having been by
friends referred to good old couple in
the interior of the State, they wrote and
engaged board for few weeks. 1t took
considerable time to settle matters, so
many little things occurred to the wife
to be arranged for, but at last everything
was satisfactorily adjusted. The last
letter was to announce when they might
be expected; and just here something
prompted the thought in the woman's
mind, and she insisted that her husband
should inquire of the farmer how far
away the watercl was from his
house; for at some extremely well-regu-
lated country Eomesteads that institu-
tion is trife less than a quarter of
mile from the fire. place. Don't you
forget it, said the wife because, ifi
is as far off as some are, | will not go
so there
Well, the husband wrote to the farmer,
and told him about what time he should
leave Boston, which road he should take
and when he might be expected He
forgot, until after he had signed his let
ter, the inquiry his wife had directed him
to make; so he added the following in
terrogatory as a postscript-"P. S.
Will you please inform me how far it is
from the house to the W. G. ?''
In good time the farmer got the letter,
Everything but the postscript was ex-
plicit and needed no Interpretation; but
what was the meaning of "W. CO.? The
honest old farmer and his honest old
wife were both-fguratively speaking
struck. They scratched their heads and
thought, and thought, and thought; but
all to no purpose, They couldn't answer
the letter until they knew what ''W c.,
meant of course, and with all their study
and shrewdness its meaning they could
not discern. The old farmer went out
into the field about his work but all the
while ''W. c." was before his eyes, and
the explanation was the worst puzzle he
ever knew. All at oEce it came to his
mind like flash. "Poh p said he; ..of
course that's it p and away he went to
the house. "Wife," said he, live got
it," Have you?" said she; ''well. for
goodness sake, then, what does w. c.
meant why, it is the meeting house,
of course-Western Chapel" so it is
warrant, replied the good woman.
| 1t seems that small chapel had been
built to accommodate two neighbor-
hoods, the distance being about the same
from each; and the farmer discovered
that his be city boarders were church.
going people, and wanted to know how
far it was to the meeting house. Hav-
ing discovered the meaning of the at
first mysterious initials, he sat down to
write, and initiating the style of his cor
respondent, he reserved his answer to
the inquiry till the last, and then added
the following extraordinary informa-
tion-"P. S. 1t is three miles and a
half to the W. c., and you have to 90
early to get seat
1t is conjectured that it was now the
Boston gentleman's turn to puzzle over
"W. G, .; but our Informant came away
soon after the farmers letter was writ
ten, and the result of the correspondence
has not been made public.
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