The Portland daily press., 1874-05-13
A Country Village.

the road one WalloWS ankle-deep IN SAND. In
the bitches at each side grows ded purple
weed, the uglest of all its tribe. Beyond the
broken-down fences which make feeble pre-
tence of barring in the road, scrub oaks and
pitch pines lift their dwarfed branches. Be-
tween the tree stumps the land is dotted with
clumps of low blueberry bushes.
The landscape, sngulary repulsve in SUM
mer is dreary beyond words at this season of
the year. The passenger jumps up on the stage
box by the side of the taciturn but accommo-
dating driver ard prepares to affront his eyes
by new and peculiar species of ugliness. L he
road is INSTRUCTED with quagmires, with stones
that jut up out of the horse-path, with broken
down culverts and shaky bridges. The coach
wheels sink to their hubs in mu1. Every forty
rods the vehicle comes to a stand-stisl, ana the
passengers are ready to stake their last doilar
that the horses are mired. But the driver HICKS
the ear of the right leader with his whip-lash,
the horses give a loud groan and a grand pull,
and the coach rolls on once more. Little black
houses squat by the roadside like gigantlc toads.
Marshes, too poor to support even lily paos,
stretch out to the low woods, and over them
scrubbv alders fling themselves in hit OF sui
cidal despair The land everywhere breaks
out into little moss patches like boi S. The
only sign of life to be seen is a very small boy
who cries out in IA big voice, "Hullo Henry"
and then swels to twice his normal size with
the proud consciousness of being on speaking
terms with the stage driver. That individual
gives him a careless nod, and resumes his occu-
patton of swearing at the bad roads.
Presently the plains are passed, and the
coach stops at a country store to SHIFT the
mails - Thee or four loungers are shivering
on the steps, who make eager enquiries about
the Temperance women" One man attired
in all the glory of paper collar which is near.
ly new, vouchsafes the remark that 'the wo-
men had better be at home attending to their
babies The others accept this highly orig
nal statement of the question as profound
truth clothed in unusually felicitous language,
aud smi e broadly The driver mutters, "Guess
the women are all right and the coach rolls
on.
The landscape begins to improve Far TO
the northwest great hills loom up, and long
pend IN which few ducks are laZily padding
stretches along the the roadside Tor. miles.
Scarcely blade of green grass is to be seen.
Little or no ploughing mas been done. Indeed,
the land has not thrown its bed-clothes OFF yet,
and patches of snow linger by the shady sides
of the fences The Little Ossipee is passed,
and the tired horses begin to climb long up
land reach over mile in length The summit
is reached at last, and suddenly we drop down
into the prettiest village in New England
Limerick
In the early summer Limerick comes upon
the traveller with the sudden joyousness OF a
delightful surprise. Fer two miles he climbs
hills, and then pumps down into sheen Of
green, wilderness of leaf and blossom. Great
trees line the streets and shade old, square
houses, once the abode of prominent county
families. On every side the horizon is bounded
by hills, some black with heavy wood-growth,
others brown and bare, and still others bright
with vivid English green. But in the month
of May Limerick is only prophecy, HAT Of
the coming summer. The houses look naked,
the trees are skeletons, and the few birds lone
somely twittering in their branches make the
scene STAR, far from gay"
The village is a wealthy and thriving one. 1t
is a trade-centre, and supplies the wants of the
neighboring towns. Two large wooden mills,
established by Mr.. Holland, an Englishman
who came.to this country many years ago, give
employment to large numbers of operatives.
The town too boasts of some of the best farmers
in the State. L. S. Moore, ESQ.,, has reclaimed
large tracts of swamp land, and has introduced
English systems of drainage and cultivation.
His example is bearing fruit, and the land cu-
tiyators about him are turning their earnest at
tention to scientific agriculture
The village has an excellent high school, six
or seven stores, several manufactures, furni
ture, clothing, &c, and three churches. Tine
Golsles asienai enurch buliding has recently
been refitted and modernized The walls have
been frescoed, stained glass windows put in,
and other Improvements made. The pastor is
fine specimen Of those scholarly, courteous
men which New England colleges turned out
thirty and forty years ago. He breaches the old
theology to a congregation unacquainted with,
and consequently not demoralzed by the bril-
liant sophisms of Renan or the pitiless logic of
Strauss. The only form of heresy which he is
called upon to combat is Universalsm, and he
deals it doughty blows. His sermon Sunday
was based npon the Pauline theology. 1t was
an earnest, scholarly effort, well reinforced
with illustrations.
The country pastor has more of the priestly
character than his city brother. People run to
him with their joys and griefs, their hopes and
fears, and call for advice in cases of emergency.
as when, for example, wayward son is to be
brought back to the fold, or daughter is to be
given in marriage. He and the village doctor
are the father confessors of the neighborhood.
He is generally looked up to as the literary CEN
sor of the village, and his opinion upol educa-
tional matters is eagerly sought for Them too.
be has time to cultivate garden plot, and can
talk with the farmers about the prospects of
the hay CROP or the best remedy for the potato
blight.
The village has been asitated Of late over a
very distressing accident which happened one
day last week. A little dau ghter Of Mr. John
Kicker. who lives near the Newfield line, was
playing near burning brush heap with her
young brother, when her clothes caught fire.
She seized the boy, crying for help, and the two
children ran nearly quarter of mile to
pond of fresh water, into which they threw
themselves. They were soon taken out by the
neighbors. The boy was not injured, but the
girl was terribly bdrned, and lived but fourteen
hours. She was great favorite in the village,
where she attended Sabbath School, and the
sad accident is the sole topic of conversation.
M.
How IT WAS RECEIvED.-The papers are
quite enthusiastic over John K Paine's ora
torio of ST. Peter, given in Boston Saturday,
The Saturday Gazette says:
80 vvbi oh ia