Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-08-13

Patent telescopfng cups are often recon.
mended, but if the gentle readef ever
tries to drink hot coffee out of one and
first burns his fingers and next allows
the thing to collapse and spill the coffee
over his knee he will appreciate the
force of the suggestion that they be
severely let alone.
Coffee is the campers breakfast
standby. Somehow, although this bev.
erage is, of course, utterly uniustifiable
under ordinary conditions. it seems tc
make itself felt in camp. Tea is useless
except for the confirmed tea topers.
Anything with alcohol in it NAV be
taken if desired, but should then be
carefully poured out upon the grounds
not in the river, it might kill the fish.
And, apropos of alcohol: 1 knew a
very grave and pious man once who was
going camping and intrusted to iocu-
lar acquaintance the responsibility Of
ordering the provisions. Next morning,
few hours before the start, the grocer
rang him up on the telephone.
Hello! Hello!'' he said; s'get away
there, Central, or I'll-Hello, Jones! Is
that grocery order of yours all right?'
YES" came back Jones' voice
through the burning and buzzing Of the
phone. cts all right
But" said the grocer, "aren't you
afraid you've got down too much'-here
he paused and looked about the store.
A mum Der of persons were within ear
shot -'too much -ah- bread; you
know; too much bread?''
No." said Jones; chats all right;
want lots of bread"
And when the big order of goods was
unpacked in camp behold! there was
an enormous wicler-guarded demijohn
of whisky and no bread at all, which
shows that even righteous campers are
not proof against the Vaccinations of
the ungodly.
The end of summer and early fall is
the great camping out time all over the
union. Whether person is in Maine
or the Adirondacks or among the Min
nesota lakes or in the Rocky mountains
the last days of August are not bad
camping weather. The days are still
warm enough for loafng, the nights
sufficiently cool to make sleepperfect and
blankets luxury. Earlier in the season
the sun will persist in waking one
up at four a. M, which makes our days
too long in the land. Earlier than this,
wv, GLCIC WILL NC 4Ouho A1OSC P4dCCS
some few or many inquisitive mosqui-
toes or others of their profane tribe.
Whatever the month, until after the
auturnnal equinox, the tent should face
the west, so as to admit the evening and
shut out the morning light.
1 believe it to be a fact that no prop
erly constituted person ever caught
cold by sleeping in tent in ordinary
summer weather. l have seen invalids
in the last stages of consumption car
rid into the pine woods almost on their
beds as a last resort. Sometimes they
died-they would have done that in any
case-often they dwarfed the miracu-
lous by getting well. 1t is specific for
nervous diseases, sleeplessness, worry,
anxiety, lung trouble, hay fever. Henry
Ward Beecher went into the heart of
the White mounta rs at a certain time
nearly every summer in order to
breathe without pain.
The camping out habit is purely
American as nearly as 1 can make out.
People are said to do it on the Thames
between Oxford and London, but 1 have
looked for tents all the way and seen
only two. American or not, it is good
custom and ought to be kept up, and to
grow with the growth of the towns as
a corrective of their unnatural condi-
tions. OWEN LANGDON.