Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-09-11


srm-houses: and the butter nut grows Wild
All down the valley. There were also many
picturesque groups OF immense wlIloss
elm OF the New England valleys was every-
where met with. The grace and beauty of
the tree forms In this valley help TO make
this region q sort OF rival to the IN mous
North Conway meadows, as studying ground
for the artists. At West Thornton, twelve
miles from the Flumc House, We stopI ed At
for dinner, getting gooi, substantial
meaera.s d sum 'sr o S for ce sas e yssy
fourteen miles (includipg the two miles OF
detour In visiting the Flume) inclined US to
loaf for an hour after dinner. One end of
we read up the news we were behind in, in
the Boston papers; and after that we heard
the political situation discussed by the group
OF country store lOungers. From the drift of
III G talk 1t was apparent that the southern
question Is the vital one up here In the gran
lie Hills. Walking on from West Thornton,
we followed q delightful road along the
the mountain tributaries had now grown to
quite river even at this period OF drouth
and low water. The road abounds In fue
viewpoints, embracing the receding Fran
coma range and the Thornton and Compton
meadows, which have been haunted by
kShsr,s DgTand. cay Gerry and other
night at Sanborn's inn at West Compton; a
roomy, comfortable boarding house hotel.
The granger proprietor, Sanborn, is, like
Mcmillan at North Conway, one OF the
giants turned out from Natures workshop
up here in the eternal hills,-made tall, as
Sanborn says, to enable them 10 look over
the tops OF the mountains. SanbOrn, i
should say, could look over N. g. Ord ways
head N. q. o. is Of there parts) standing in
his stockings. Sanborn's is q great resort of
giltedged Bostonians, as well as OF artists
and anglers and the like. In the evening
there was some very good music In the par
lors, in which a famous Boston tenor fleeing
lodging. and breakfast-all good-at SAN
boTn's the charge was but one dollar! Such
landlords serve TO restore faith In human
nature.
COMPTON AND BELOW.
Our walk from the Flume House to San
born's, including the visit to the Flume, had
covered rather over seventeen miles, aud on
this day we had q tramp of twenty five
miles before US, as we proposed to reach Gen.
tire Harbor, on Lake Winnepesaukee, and
at the same time to take in various hill
side view points somewhat of the road.
With each hours experience now in walk
ing we found new zest and increased ease OF
entered on the task Of the day with positive
exhileration. Our mornings walk was to
Plymouth, seven miles distant, and on
Compton, we stopped at the school house on
the hill TO enjoy the mountain and meadow
view that Starr King raves about. Perhaps
because OF q rather heavy haze OF smoke the
mountain view was not up 10 our anticipa-
tons. but the meadows below, through
which the beautiful Pemigewasset, trans
parent as air, pursued its shining course, or
fingered TO serve as mirror for some grace
full group OF foliage, were all that fancy or
art had painted them. Our road now got
more dusty or sandy as We proceeded down
the valley, and all the way TO Plymouth the
sand made the walking somewhat heavy.
PLYMOUTH
Is charmingly situated on terraces and I'M
dulatipg ground above the Pemtge wasset,
and by the substantial look of the business
houses, and the elegance OF the private resi-
dences would seem TO be place OF consider
able wealth and business enterprise. 1t Is q
great resort for summer boarders, but its
main business Is the manufacture OF the
widely known plymouth buck gloves"
We stopped for dirner at the Plymouth
pretentious welI-kept houses to be found in
all these New England villages. The charge
for a really good dirner, everything excel
lent OF its kiud, was but so cents.
DANIEL wEBsTER's FIRST PLEA.
Opposite the Plymouth House we noticed
some workmen engaged In rejuvenatipg an
old frame building and taking q good deal OF
superhuous pains apparently to preserve all
the weather beaten material that was not
absolutely too rotten to bear handling. 1t
seems that this brtldipy, primitive one
story structure with heavy timoers and q
pointe roof, was the old court house OF
Grafton county, and the interest In 1t calling
tor Its preservation Is the fact that Daniel
webster made his first plea before jury ia
this seven-by-nine room. The building has
been removed TO the present site, adjac ,nt to
the new court house, and Is to be re shingled,
ster's was In behalf Of q desperate Murderer,
ard according to tradition was q mesterly
argument against capital punishment, q ne
no short hand reporters In those days, and
no Mrs. Gales at hand TO rescue 1t from OBJ
uvtOn.
TOWARDS THE LAKE REGION.
At Plymouth we babe good bye to the
bright Pemigewasset, and turning sharply
to the left set our faces toward the lake coun-
try OF New Hampshire. Our course was first
across the Plymouth meadows, famous for
their faultless elms, felicitously described
by Starr King as each "standing out alone
over its private area OF shadow, seemingly
an ever gushing fountain of graceful YER
DUE" Then we mounted tedious hill 1.-THE
road being loose sandy and presently passed
In the old town OF Holderness, the anti.
quated Episcopal church ed1flce and grave
worth and a company Of English Episcopal
ian emigrants undertook TO lay the founda-
ton Of the great city Of New England, the
rival Of Puritan Boston, the headquarters OF
q colony devoted to the spread OF the doc
trines OF the Church OF England. Still as
cending by this billy road We came to q
stream where man with q yoke OF oxen
and drag was filing some barrels with
water, to be drawn two miles to q farm
house. The wells all about were dry, he said,
on account OF the great drouth.
THE GUIDE BOARDS OF HoLDERNESs
TOWNSHIP.
And now we began to enter upon the series
Of remarkable guide boards for which the
road from Plymouth to Centre Harbor is so
justly distinguished. From the initial posts
at each end OF the route you learn that IL is
II miles from Plymouth to Centre Harbor,
and Is miles from Centre Harbor to Ply
mouth. Adding mp the miles given on the
intervening posts you find that 1t is 81 miles
between these points; and IL frequently hap
pens that after walking four or I'VE miles
you are confronted with the Information that
that number OF miles has been added instead
OF deducted from the demnition total. Ma
thaniel Hawthorne died suddenly In Ply
n a SAx