Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-09-20
THE SUMMER BoARDER sKETCHED
Varieties Observed in an Out.of-the-
Way New England Town.
SHOT BY THE ENEMY-THE OLD FoOTE HOUSE
F1Tz GREENE HALLECKS HOME-"EvER OF
THEE"-sTRAIGHT BANGS AND BATHING SUITS.

SHOT BY THE ENEMY-THE OLD FoOTE HOUSE
FITz GREENE HALLEcK's HoME-"EvER OF
THEE'-STRAIGHT BANGS AND BATHING SUITS.
Correspondence of TIE EVENING STAR.
GUnFoRD, Conn, September s, 1884.
The tourist who starts from home with firm
Intentions to achieve literary fame by scribblinp
to his local paper usually, believe Cat least
that has been my observatory, begins with q
concise statement of the early settlement of q
given place, followed by an epitome of its his
tory and ends with a few dashes of biography
anent its prominent citizens" in good big let
tiers and extra spacing. As 1 haven't the least
idea Of the history Of this specimen New Eng
land town, and as l don't believe we Others take
the least particle of interest in the prominent
citizen, shall wisely refrain
We reached Guilford by carriage, having
driven through wild and pretty country from
Stony Creek, passing on the way numer
Gus houses Of ancient date half-ruined barns
county school houses, settlements of .'po
Whites" and acres of salt marsh. A mile
or so from town we stopped by the way
side to read the inscription on an ancient
maidstone, which tells how one Simeon Leett
was shot by the Enemy with capital Ed in the
year Of Our Lord. 1881. Poor Simeon Leete
We took side road hereabouts and visited
tIc Oiu rOOl0 WHICH dates Uack--as
shown by the figures over it's hospitable door
| to 1913. 1t was one OF the ladies of this family
as is well-known, who married Senator Hawley
of Connecticut: another daughter is an author.
ess, and a daughter-n-law of the house is one OF
our best known Illustrators, besides being also q
writer.
Guiford proper is good representation Of
the usual New England town. with It's green OF
goodly circumference. its fine old trees its an
cient homesteads and modern villas. and its
sedate and proper meeting houses. Not given,
perhaps to fancy bricks and stones and heathen-
lsh styles of architecture, but each house set
prmly and daintily in its own enclosure. and in
differently viewing the outside world from
behind decorous and wel-clOsed blinds Of green
or drab. Here in Guilford was the home OF
Fitz-Greene Halleck. now metamorphosed into
hotel, in immense letters. and leaning together
in its old age, as is the wont of such ancient
places, and hugging to its time-worn hearth its
fading memories.
But even Guilford has been invaded by the
enemy, for the summer bOarder is here in all
her glory. Gotten up in lace sleeves and square
neck in manner that must strike terror to the
frogs and fishes, and send wild thrill of Joy to
the heart of the festive mosquito. The summer
boarder of the gentler sex is not always young
nor always fair. She is often a giddy young
married thing of thirty or so. who sings "Eyer
of thee" to the Jingle of the hotel piano, and
gets herself up in a Tam O'Shanter' and the
aforesaid sleeves.
The summer girl. though not necessarily. is
yet generally boarder also. She is convert
to beauty unadorned she wears her bangs
straight, and has long since given up counting
the frcckles on her nose. The summer girl is
great on bathing suits, dances divinely, and is
usually in a state of mild eXharation, except
when the married summer boarder takes away
the few and-far-between young man. which
she-alasl-too often does. The summer girl is
naturally in a state Of righteous indignation
over this, believing. justly or unjustly, that the
married summer boarder should remain on her
own preserves.
The male summer boarder is of several varie-
ties. One species appears periodically on Sat-
urday nights and disappears periodically on
Monday mornings 1t is to this kind that the
married summer boarder is said to belong An
other species is athletic. and paralyzes the
neighbOrhOod in flannel shirts and knickerbock-
ers. and is frequently engaged in a struggle
with his stockings. between which and the de-
voted attentions of the married summer board
er and the summer girl, his life is not always O
happy one.
But now the hotel-keeper is beginning to
count his gold, the mosquito is preparing for
another world, the frogs are growing sad, and
the migrating world is going home and leaving
New England to winter and to me. The golden
rod-that token of summers dissolution-is
gliding the fences and the fields. Underneath
it will make me little grave for my pen and
on the headstone cut ''Auf ,ciedersehenr'
MARX TAPLE