Litchfield enquirer., 1879-08-07
SNUG HAMLET, l"


 7oz is SNUG HAMLET" . we make the following extract from an
 article by Gunnery graduate (Wm. Gibson, in the August Harper entitled, ''Snug Ham
 let and Hometown. MT. Sung is MT. Gum, of course, and the other names and localitiei
 will be familiar to most Judeans, and ''old
 boys ED. ENo.l
 A sharp turn round jutting
 hillside, and met a prospect that quickens
 the heart and makes the eye grow dim. There
 beyond, three miles ssas flies the laden bee, Z finger on the welcome sight as on it's hilltop fair two steeplcs side by side betray the hidden l town, my second home.
 How lightly did appreciate the fortunate journey when twenty summers ago, follow.
 ed this road for the first time, when boy oi ten years, on my way to an unknown village, looked across the landscape to the little spires on that distant hill Little did dream of the six years of unmixed happiness and precious experience that awaited me in that little Ju dea. 1 only knew that was sadly quitting happy home on my way to 'boarding- school -a school called the Snuggery, taught by Mir. Snug, in little village called Snug Ham let. about twenty miles from Hometown
 There are some experiences in life which, however truthful, cannot be told but to elicit the doubtful nod or the warning finger or ln- credulity. They are such experiences as these,
 however, that made up the sum of my early
 life in that happy refuge called in modern par lance ''boarding- -schoor'-a name as empty, word as weak and tame in it's significance, as
 poverty itself no doubt abundantly express
 i've in it's ordinary application, but here it is q mockery and satire This is not ''board.
 ing school ;" it is a Household, whose memories
 moisten the eye and stir the soul; to which lts
 scattered members through the feeting years
 look back as to neglected home, with father and mother dear, whom they long once more
 to meet as in the tenderness of boyhood days
 cherished remembrance which, like tht
 ''house upon a hill, can not be hid, but shed
 deth abroad it's light unto many hearts who in
 those early days sought the loving shelter g
 bright star in the horizon of the past, glow
 that Iie'er grows dim, but only kindles anG
 brightens with the flood of years Yes, yes
 know it sounds like a dash of sentiment, but
 words of mine are feeble and impotent indeed
 when sought for the expression of an attach
 ment so fond, of love so deep. .---, Fifteen years ago. with a parting full o | sorrow, rode away from Snug Hamlet yon l der, in the village stage-a day that brought { depression that fingered long, and fingers still Glowing, sunset tinted fields glide by unno ticed now as, with eyes intent on the distan
 hill, look back through the lapse of time.
 mile has gone without my knowing it, when . joyous laugh awakens me from my day
 dreams Two boys approached us on the roat
 ahead, and, what might seem very strange tt you, one wears a wooden beot-iack strun! around his neck and dangling on his breast
 but he carries his burden lightly and cheerful | ly. As they near the carriage draw the rein and they both pause by the road side.
 ''Well, boys" I ask, ''where do you hai from 2Y 3.,e.a -.f zsf.,,.,fr ..r.f .s ...,.a,r
 ..'We're from the Snuggery. Sir"
 'I thought so,' said I, with laugh, II
 which they both joined. ''But what are yol
 doing with that boot-jack ?" i, ..-. 5 ..s,. ''Oh, you see," said one. with a roguisl
 smile, ''Charlie and 1 were having little tus sle in the sitting room, and he picked up MT
 Snug's boot jack in the corner and began t.
 ingii it the worst and were rollin' on the feor
 MT. Snug came in and caught us in the job and now we're pGyin' for it."
 ''How SOP" inquired, well knowing wha
 would be the response. a F Tll ''Oh, you see, Mir. Snug held diagnos | over our remains, and sad he thought we were | suffering for the want of little exercise, and
 ordered us trip to Judd's Bridge" 57
 And the boot jack p "Oh, he sad that Charlie might want te play with that some more on the way, anG
 he'd better fetch it along;" and with mis chievous snicker at his encumbered cOmpan
 ion, he led him along the road in hilarious
 race, while we enjoyed hearty laugh at theil expense. g- 1t3 neg And this is a pNnislnaesat Yes, here is sn
 introduction to one phase of system of cor | rection as unique as the matchless institution | in which 1t had it's birth-a system without s parallel in the annals of reinstatement or school government, and which for thirty years has proved it's wisdom in the household manage 1 ment of the Snuggery. .os Ei''7T s'To Judd's Bridge How natural the sound
 of those words How many times have I my
 self been on that same pilgrimage of penance The destination of these boys is rickety but picturesque structure which spans the Shepaug five miles below Snug Hamlet. Through three decades it looks back to it's host of ac- quaintances of those romping lads who, with
 a superfuity of exnberant spirits, made havoc and din III the household. The dose IS admin. | istered with wise discrimination both as to the symptoms and the needs and the strength of the patients It always proves sterling remedy, if not, indeed, sugar-coated one
 as in the case of these two ruddy, rollicking examples. ayaa sDlru Z = s@s..'.i.sl Judds Bridge is but one of a, score of places which serve in the administration of Snuggery discipline. It is however, the one most re
 mote, and it's ten-miles journey is reserved as
 heroic dose for extraordinary cases. after other roads have been tried without avail Next on the list comes Moody. Barn, with frequent callers. This old settler, gray and weather beaten, marks point one mile from the Snuggery, where the still waters of the Shepaug run slow and deep. ..rsfgs Fl-sa-, And then there's Kirby. Corners, a mere stroll of few minutes round the square of a rock bound pasture just enough to give your self time to think a bit and congratulate your self on what you have, escaped, h All these, ana several more, are vivid in my memory; friend. old and intimate. And here's another, right
 before us by the road side. For several min ! utes through the tantalizing trees we have
 heard it's rumbling wheel, it's reiterating clanl
 and busy saw and now. as itsfamiliar outline | looms up against the evening sky, the vision l seems to darken as on that night of long ago when through the shadowy mystery of tho moon-lit gloom | stole my way among +hs sheltered golden-rod when the lofty Hume l like a huge horned creature, seemed to stride athwart me in the darkness, and the fitfu boyish fancy saw strange phantoms in the
 floating, melting mist This ancient structurs reposes in verdant dell at. the foot of Snug Hamier Hff1. A choice of two roads lies be fore us, one short and direct. the other roundabout approach A sudden impulst leads nfe into the latter On right and left
 see the same old rocks and trees. Thers
 stands the veteran beech to whose gnarled an5 hollow trunk Itraced the agile flying squirrel and with suffocating flame and smoke drove
 him from his hiding place, Here betweer
 large rocks and stones the trout stream rnn. l it's course, now pouring in small cataracts, now pouring in small cataracts, now eddying intt still, dark hooks, where in those by-gone time. dropped the line of expectancy, but showed the clnmsiness of diversity. = A few minutes later, and we are gliding again by the dari Shepaug, now flowing calm and silent beneatf
 a rugged bank, wild and umbrageous, where
 the swarm of katydids, with grating discord
 maintain their old dispute, that never-endinl
 feud. The wheels turn noiselessly in the shift I ing sand as we pursue our way. The low gray fog steals lightly over the lily pads, fioatinl into seclusion beneath the, sheltering boughs and,' like an evanescent spirit, borne upon tht | s. a.e .-ft-