The Portland daily press., 1879-10-02
OSSIPEE VALLEY FAIR.
Second Days Proceedings.
CORNISH, Oct. /.

CORNISH, Oct l.
| The pleasant and thriving village Of Cornish
| is thronged with visitors today. Truth to say
| they came to see the horse trot, manifesting
more interest in that than in the fine display
of stock or in the long tables groaning under
| their weight of fruit The fair grounds pre-
sent an animated scene. All day long teams
from the neighboring towns have driven in
| The stalwart yeomen (alas! not "stalwart"
in political sense,) are present in force ac-
companed by their wives and sweethearts.
The grounds are dotted with pretty women,
each of them deserving the blue ribbon which
| betokens the first premium, though the color
of it might not be becoming to all of them.
| A familiar sight to one who was born Or
| reared in the Ossipee Valley is Hartman OF
| Porter and his BOOTH Not boy has breathed
| for the last thirty years in the towns that lie
along the river who does not know Hartman
| and who cannot remember the time when his
| spread of sweets and edibles under the shadow
OF canvas tents or upon long tables in front OF
the old, wooden, implanted town-houses which
the region so long affected, seemed royal
banquet or like a scene from the Arabian
| Nights. No man was so envied as he, and did
| you ask boy which he would rather be, Har-
riman or the President of the United States,
| he would give the Presidency the go-by and
choose to be the candy-man. For old times
sake one is tempted to seat himself in the
booth and seek to call up the appetite of
youth. To him will come Capt. James French
and minister to his wants and memories.
Captain jim" bears lightly the burden Of
oil ay hon,
when he strobe, clad in the awful panoply OF
war, in front of the Porter militia. Those
who have in boyish days looked with awe upon
his nodding plumes feel a peculiar gratifica-
ton at the sight of him standing attentively
at their shoulders wearing the white apron of
peace 1t is as though q king were serving
them.
To-day is the house-day. Though Thursday
is set apart for the display and judgment of
fruit the show now is very fine All the IA
nous varieties of apples are represented. AS
was to be expected, the display of the highly
colored and richly favored Nod-Head is large,
for Cornish claims the honor of bringing that
delicious apple to the admiring notice OF the
world. OF pears, too, the show is large and
various, and grapes and peaches strew the
tables. One of the most appetizing exhibits is
of honey, Mr.. Gilbert Chase displaying many
hives and boxes of it. 1t is said that Mr..
Chase talks with his bees and tells them what
he wants. 1t is certain he is on familiar
terms with all flying and creeping things and
understands the language of beasts and birds,
having as large and genuine love OF nature as
Thoreau had himself.
AT noon the premiums for horses, sheep,
swine and poultry were awarded. In the af-
ternoon horse-trot took place-but not the
trot advertised. Coupon, entered by j. Is.
Fowler, was present; but I. P. Woodbury. and
Charles Wilson, who entered Little Pete and
Millinocket, shamefully broke faith, kept
their horses away, grievously disappointed
great crowd of people, and emphasized the
proverbial thickness of horsemen. The three
minute race was substituted for the 23o,
Frank F., entered by r. T. Larrabee, Little
Coupon by S. B. Knight, and Little Drew by
George H. Wakefield contending. Fir nix T.
acquitted himself so WE'LL that he was matched
with Coupon, and the race will probably take
place tomorrow, the last day of the fair.
There was also a trot between colts under i've
years old, the entries being Billy Weilman, by
d. C. Pike of Cornish, and Hepsie, by Isaac
Sargent of Porter. The first named won III