New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-11-16
AFOOT IN NEW.ENGLAND.
RAMBLING NOTES OF A WEEKS WALK UP
TIE CONNECTICUT RIVER VALLEY.
vi.

| the Importance of your supper and bed assumes
unnatural proportions. take it that both the
African and the New England explorer share in
common this anxiety to what the night will
bring forth. Indeed, fancy that the one in New
England has the worst time Of 1t in some respects;
he is wholly at the mercy Of his brother men,
whereas the African investigator, il he does not
| ike his bed under one tree, can move over under
| another But who would get up in hotel at
midnight and go wandering about town feeling
| of the mattresses of the other hotels? Perhaps
| | do not need to say that encountered all sorts
and conditions of hotels in New-Engand.
stayed one night at what was said to be the best
| in prosperous Connecticut River town noted for
| It's manufacture Of paper, and it was truly de-
| light felt like like an African explorer when
| he finds banana. The best hotels i'm New-York
| are no better, except, perhaps, in some minor
points The next night think it was stayed
at what was told was the best hotel in town
| almost as large, and 1t was quite another sort
! OF place. 1t had a pretentious outside, but to
live in it forty-fve days would be to accomplish
practically what Succi is now attempting. The
clerk was faultlessly dressed and constantly wore
| bland smile, but may smile and smile
and be clerk in a villanous hotel still arrived
a half-hour after the time appointed for supper
| The last boarder had been assisted from the table
back to his room. One Of the dining-room girls
| brought me neatly printed menu from which
everything had been crossed of except beefsteak
| and the name of the proprietor / told the girl
that would take becfsteak She went away and
| in less than two minutes was back with the steak
and few miscellaneous stand-bys, which seemed
| to go with it, The clerk walked through the
room and turned down the gas still smiling in the
| midst of famine / asked the girl if the distress
| was widespread, but she did not seem to under
| stand nfpd hat I pnirh Gpie
pleased, as she wanted to go to prayer-meeting
The clock on the wall was stopped, l suppose to
save the wear and tear on the wheels. got through
| as soon as l could and went out and watched the
clerk smile. l am convinced that he must have
| boarded elsewhere At bedtime he showed me
| TO my room. The key seemed to fit, but the door
would not open. He threw himself heavily
| against it several times, snd then went and got
more keys and worked with it q long time I
| offered to go out and see what could do toward
getting burglar to come in but he only smiled
and asked me to push, too, and together we got
it open and / entered the cell where I stayed
till morning. Breakfast was much the same az
| supper. ought to say that at both meals the
salt was excellent. The walters in all the New
England hotels that saw were young ladies' and
usually they did their work very we'll
But it is In the small villages away from the
railroads where the really delightful little country
hotels are to be found. remember one especially
The American House, believe it was, in village
OF thirty or forty houses, which may call Clear
Brook, in the extreme northwestern part of Massa-
chusetts. The landlord unpretentiOus
sort OF man, little over five feet TALL and when
arrived he was out at the barn milking He
invited me to take another three-legged stool and
sit down till he finished lie wore a garment,
very popular in that region, the name of which
neglected to learn but which goes on over every
thing else like child's apron and buttons up be-
hind. had just ridden the last mile with a man
who was wearing one of them which he proudly
informed me was homespun. The landlord fin
shed milking in few minutes, and as he got up
and laid his stool to side the cow hit him a
kick on his leg which thought would have
broken it, but / concluded it was only her way
of saying goodnight, as he paid not the least at
tention to it. The cow herself looked around with
a pleasant expression her face if she
cOngratuating herself on her aim and intended
to knock him down next time Then we fed the
pigs and shut the chicken-coop and went into the
house. Here | regir'ered in blank day book Of
merchant who started in business in Clear Brook
a few years before, but made failure of it.
noticed that he had sold pair of boots to Ezra
Thompson, seven pounds Of sugar to Henry Rey-
nolds, a straw hat to Hiram Walker, key Of
nails to Peter Owen, and various things to divers
other persons, but oonld not see that anybody
had ever paid anything except Ezra Thompson,
who brought in four pounds of butter to apply
on the boots, so did not wonder that he failed.
But the blank pages of the book, and most of them
blank, served well for a register, and the land
lords apology for it seemed all unnecessary 1t was
o cool night, and there roaring wood fire
in big round stove. The landlord took off his
surplice and sat down with me by the fire. and told
me that he had clerk, who was usually duty.
but that he had gone out in the country a couple
Of miles after load Of hay for the cow While
sitting there tall man, wearing a red
Shirt came in and looked around a moment, anil
said Amos, III sign them papers now" then
he disappeared through door near the end of the
counter, and the landlord got up so quickly that
his chair fell over backward, and then he rushed
around behind the counter and Owed through
another door. Each closed the door behind
him, and they gone about three minutes, when
each came out of his door and they made change
over the counter and the tall man went out.
The landlord sat down and began talking again, |
but soon two men came in, one carrying a lantern
and the other long whip with lash cut ont of
bootleg One of them looked h, I'd at me, and
then said Amos, less sign them papers an
have it done with, then they went through the
door at the end Of the counter and the landlord
jumped up and divcd through the door behind the
counter, and again they were gone about three
minutes, and when they came out they made
change over the counter. The landlords wife, who
was about six inches taller than he was and
woman that any one could see would never let a
cow kick her and not resent it, now came in and
announced that supper ready. l was taken
in and seated at q long table, at which plates had
been laid for twenty-six but was the only one.
Soon however, a dyspeptic-looking man came In
and sat down opposite me, and after awhile the
landlord came and took a seat at a round table |
near at hand: but he was not allowed to finish his
meal In peace, as man with very gray hair
and a very red nose put his head in the door
and said that he would sign them papers now If |
it was agree BILE. and the landlord split his tea In
the butter dish and ran out, and L heard him |