Morning journal and courier., 1892-08-03
TaE HIGHEST VILLAGE

Bethlehem Near MO unit Warrington |
A Thunderstorm Among the
Mountain Peaks-Q ua1nt Oh urches.
Bethlehem, typical rural village in the
heart of the White mountains, is one of
the many places in that whole delightful
mountain region to which large number
of people from Boston, New York and the |
other large cities turn every year for the |
quiet of its majestic,hills and the invigorat-
ing powers of its pure, cool.breezes. A New |
Haven gentleman who is spending the |
summer there has sent the following |
entertaining description of the town and |
its environs, which will, no doubt prove
interesting to many COURIER readers:
Bethlehem, as seems to be the case with
most of the cities here, is built on the one
long street-and- several-cross- plan.
The large hotels are almost wholly on the
long street. There are very few stores,
Littleton, about five miles from here, be-
ing the commercial center of this whole
region, perhaps of the White mountains.
Littleton has very many stores, five
churches and all the appointments of a
city, except size and population. It is
small place; it's Importance is due to its
absorbing the commerce of the summer
boarding villages, and this, I suppose, is
due in turn to its being a station on the
Concord and Montreal railroad.
Bethlehem is reached by the Profile and
Franconia Notch railroad from Bethlehem
Junction. At the latter place one must
change cars, as the Profile and Franconia
Notch is a narrow-guage road (three feet
wide, believe.) The postoffca is about
quarter of mile from my place, in a drug
store opposite the Sinclair house. This Is
the leading hotel, except the Maplewood,
which is about three, quarters of mile
from the postof6ce, but has a postofice
and railroad station of its own, that is,
cottages about it.
Bethlehem is, believe, the highest in
habited village east of the Rocky noun
| tains and north of the Carolinas. All
about are mountains. The nearest to me
at this instant is Mt. Agassiz, the base of
which is possibly three quarters of mile
from here, 2,401 feet high. I have been
| up once, but the time was not favorable,
as 1t was hazy, although the sun was hot
enough to roast a turkey alive. Looking
down Bethlehem street one secs at dis
ton. 6, 291 feet high. One range near here
| is called the Presidential, having its peaks
| named after different presidents The
mountains which have impressed me most
are the Franconia mountains. These are
| very advantageously seen from the Fran
coma end of the road to Franconia, being
| about five miles distant, but looking much
nearer. Lafayette is {, 1863 feet high, Can
| non T. O7, and there are other high ones.
| The clouds gather about their SUBMITS
and between peaks and everywhere else.
witnessed mild thunderstorm while in
and near FIanconia, on a walk. The
lightning itself seemed to be among the
mountains, though presume it was really
much higher in the air. It is impossible
for one locking at these colossal, majestic
| monuments, these grand but silent wit
| nesses of creation, not to be deeply moved
| with the thought of the power of him who
made these things and shall one day de-
stroy this mighty universe ''in the twink
| ling of an eye" as if it. were nothing and
with the thought of ones own utterly in
significant part in 1t all. "What is man.
that thou art mindful of him; and the son
Of man, that thou visitest hima"
There are here three churches. The
Congregationalist and Methodist are open
| all the year. AS there are, I understand,
| only five Episcopalians, the Episcopal
church is open only in the summer season
and is filed by someone chosen each sum-
mer; 1t is wooden church. has eastward
position, that is, if you are not familiar
with the term, the altar Is at the eastern
end, which is the proper place, though it
| could not conveniently avoid it, and green
altar and pulpit and lecture cloths, this
| being the appropriate color for the whole
| period during which it is open, except the
| holy days and saints days, of which,
| think, there are but five. We have morn
| ing prayer Sundays at 1915, Wednesdays
and Fridays at $50; evening prayer Sun
! days at 7:45. Sermon at each of these
Sunday services. Holy Eucharist every
Sunday alternately at 7:30 a. M, and after
| morning prayer, also holy and saints days
at $50. Tho rector is not at all ritualistio
He will go up to the altar to fix things be-
fore service, or remove the pater and
chalice after the eucharist without even his
cassock. But doctrinally he is a good high
churchman, believing in the real presence
and the eucharistic memorial sacrifice.
Beside these sound doctrinal views, he
really has about the best way of any man
have ever met of handling doubts and
heresies. He can knock them out COM
pletely in very few words. He is beside
very earnest man; his sermons deal to a
considerable extent with the gifts of the
Holy Ghost and the divinity of our Lord
But the jewel of the churches here is the
Episcopal church at Littleton. This is a
really handsome brick building, cruciform,
has eastward position, though on the west
side of the street. has morning prayers
daily, and is always open up to or 6
O'Clock, or whenever they close it for the
night. The services are said to be quite
"high." was inside of the Roman Cath
olic church in Littleton this afternoon. It
is nothing special INTELLECTUALLY; evidently
a congregation of poor people and
not we'll kept up either. If my
eyes did not badly deceive me
the holy water dishes were absolutely dry.
The affairs are wooden. I did not note
carefully the direction, but I am pretty
sure it is the reverse of the correct posi-
ton.
My interest is largely taken up in the
churches, their architecture somewhat,
but their principles of belief mainly, and so
have written at length on them. There
are no other New Haven people right in
this place, but understand there are sew