The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-07-25
THE PRESS.
Boston Courier.l
The Vagaries of a Tramp.
A Students Walk From College to the
White Mountains.
BY MRS. ELLEN NJ. MASON.

lived through sicky babyhood and spiad.
ling boyhood, to the wonder of every
body. But he has always had great fond
ness for cunning, fishing, skating and tenn
perate camping out at judici0us seasons,
and by reason of the most devoted pursuit
of these tastes, his constitution has steadily
gained tirmness. At nineteen, when he en-
tered college, he was fully the equal in en-
duraHce of many who apparently had much
finer physique. He was OF great renoWn IN
the base ball and in the rowing club. But
bending over books made his chest ache; so
much study was exceeding WEAKNESS to his
flesh. Yet, though he had no love for
learning in the abstract, manly self-respect
made him keep his rank fairly up to the
average, and in regard to those subjects dear
to his particular tastes he displayed mi
nuteness of knowledge astonishing to bril-
liant scholars who had only vague and in
coherent information on these topics. For
instance, he was as familiar with The daily
common life of Richard the Lion-Heart, as
he was with that of his forever studious
roommate. He would talk with the small
est assistance and unfortunately of Saladin,
Berengaria, Richards adventures in the
Holy Land, or in queer contrast and with
equal fervor, of Indian battles, Tecumseh
and Rachel Donelsen, General Andrew Jack
son being his hero of modern times.
But after two years in college Paul looked
narrower chested from the weight of study
he said, but his classmates declared his
lungs were worn away with panegyrics on
Andrew Jackson and the Lion Heart. His
head ached; he was pale and needed rest.
''You ought to have congenial change"
said cousin who went to college with him.
''Why not go visiting our uncle Elijah,
way up in the White Hills of New Hamp-
shire? He lives among fine scenery, and
has five girls, all jolly and good-looking, and
you would be all right again in month.
If l were you, though, l would walk the
whole way. Such tramp in this splendid
Fall weather would be glorious
Romantic, too, and cheap at the same
time cannot play the flute, but 1 can
scrape violin, and l should fancy myself to
be Oliver Goldsmith wandering from the
canals of Holland to the ice-ribbed falls of
the Rhine, as | wandered from the plains of
Brunswick to the White Mountains"
And the leaven worked till Pauls spirits
rose. The thought of a tramp from South
ern Maine across to Northern New Hamp-
shire, through woods of brown and red and
yellow, by pleasant farm lauds, through the
rich, spicy air and the mellow weather, the
allurements of camping out, the temptations
of hunting, these were too much: studies
and college duties became irksome; he Ger
tainly was not we'll, and the Faculty must
be persuaded of it. The result was that one
fine morning about the middle of October
he arrayed himself in blue flannel noun
tain suit, and stout, low shoes, and with
staff in hand merrily set out, having first
promised to faithfully write out the most re-
markable adventure of his tramp, and to
faithfully transcribe for the class any later
revelations he might have concerning Gen
eral jackson or, the Lion Heart.
Fine, glorious weather, the soft, dreamy
air of October around him, the wide land
glowing in gorgeous color, youth and light
heart, aud warm blood bounding in his
veins! Intense enjoyment filled every hour,
and at night, when he lodged at the most
convenient farmhouse instead of camping
in unsocial isolation, though he had tired
limbs and aching bones at first, he was too
happy to consider such tritiing disadvantage
as hindrance to his journey. Lively chat
and mingled political predictions and dis
cussions with patriotic aud argumentative
farmers along the way enlivened his soil
tude, and he transferred his attention, for
the time being, from the exploits of Rich
ard and General Jackson to the respective
claims and chances of Garfield and Hancock
And one night-fall he reached a farm
where one of the best and most peculiar of
New England festive occasions was to be, a
lCStlfdi WulCu ptTIultS uOSb
diversion with the least possible waste of
time. The house was blest with one of the
prettiest girls it had ever been Pauls for
tune to behold He joined heartily in the
merry-making, ''liking the poetry of the
thing" to use his own expression. 1t was
charminge the old brown-gabled barn. the
sweet smelling hay-mo IS, the great heaped
loads of the corn-crop that crowded the long
barn floor, yellow ears bursting throug the
dry rustling husks: lanterns, swinging from
pitchforks in the mows, lit up the idyllc
picture. Outside were soft white moonlight
and deep, tranquil shadow, with gray mas
sy fog rising from the intervale brook into
the frosty sky.
Paul thought of Maud Muller, it being, as
he said, "only taking time little abruptly
by the forelock," to himself personate the
judge, and he revived the obsolete and near
~ forgotten game of the finding IF red ears.
In this he played a similar part-thou b
alberto that of the heathern Chinee in the
celebrated game of euchre. At last, from
dread that the remarkable resemblance to
each other of his suspiciously frequent dis
coveries should be remarked on, and from
fear If public disgrace, he felt obliged to de-
sist from producing from his sleeve again
the red ear that had suggested the sport and
the only one he found during the evening.
But the device was quite the success of the
evening, as Paul the hero, so after the har-
vest supper of delicious and substantial far
mer's fare, he slept contentedly, wondering,
as ne floated off into dreamland, whether he
had captured the heart of Maud Muller.
Next morning while the dew still sparkled
on the grass, with lingering look and tender
pressure of the hand, he parted from Maud
Muller after obtaining her permission to
write to her from the halls of learning
al nt Iat, Ealta IL L.
alton owed something to the fact that her
father in the talking politics. indispensa-
BILE to the meeting together of two, three or
hundred men at that exciting time, had
declared himself always to have been
jackson Democrat" and that Maud Null
Ter and the whole family showed great IA
miliarity with the character and course Of his
modern hero.
He was nearing his journeys end An
other day of tramping after this would
bring him to his haven of rest, his Uncle
Elijah's, with the five jolly, good-looking
girls He could see Mount Washington
and Jefferson and Adams away off in the
North, and Kearsarge standing lonely in the
Nor beast, seemingly very near him. In
the afternoon it began to rain. Beginning
calmly and deliberately, the storm soon
grew wild. The wind howled and ragged.
twisting off small branches of the trees and
sending them whirling through the air and
raising bright whirlwinds of leaves by the
roadside and far off in the solemn gloom of
the woods. 1t grew dark very early. Paul
was wet to the skin and more tired than he
had been since he started, but there was no
light in sight and he must trudge on. In
turning curve of the road he came il
sight of large deserted house a little off
the highway, surrou ded by huge trees.
He at once made up his mind to enter and
pass the night, or at least TO wait until the
storm had subsidized. Lifting the od-fash-
Toned latch, he opened the heavy outside
door and stood in a wide hall or entrance.
Through the thick dust he could discern
the solemn, pale face of a tall clock, but no
cheerful ticking broke the deep stiffness.
He lighted match against the wall; the
sharp cracking noise woke uncanny little
echoes; grotesque forms rose and moved
away from the tiny, lurid blaze. He opened
another door into what seemed to have been
the family sitting-room; there vas an ample
fireplace and his match burnt long enough
for him TO grope his lay through kitchen
aud 10 a shed beyond, where he gathered tp
an armful Of fuel and dry sticks; returning
he soon had a bright. roaring fire and pro-
ceeded TO gaze philosophicaliy around.
Greatly To his woRdeIment he perceived
that he room seemed furnished as COM
pletely as when il had old-fashoned though
tasteful and evidently comfort-loving occu-
pants. There was a high-back settle Gov.