The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-06-24
AS TO YOUR VACATION.
Three Questions That Are In Vraer
this Season.

and MISUNDERSTANDING of Sea voy-
age-A Log Cabin Outing.
Copyright, 1898, by American Press Associa-
tion.l
"When do you take your vacatiol?"
Where are you going this years.
"How long will you be away"
If you are not asked these three ques-
tions at least once a day at this time of
the year, it is very strange, for the vaca-
ton habit has got to be very strong in
America and has been increasing year.
by year for several decades-increasing
as erusty old father of my acquaint-
ance who has to pay for the vacations of
large family of grown and half grown
sons and daughters put it the other day,
"with great virulence."
Time was when the three questions
have quoted would have been preceded
by ''Are you going to take a vacation?"
but that time has passed. ALI the world
takes vacation nowadays, or at least
the exceptions are SO rare that they may
be spoken of as proving the rule"
Judging from present indications, the
growth of the habit this year will be
quite up to the annual average. The
newspapers are filed with attractive adj
vertisements setting forth the merits of
resorts by the seashore, by the side of
the still waters of lakes, in the noun
tains and in the forests. Town and coun-
try are being flooded with hand bills and
folders and handsomely printed, artistic
ally illustrated little volumes descrip-
tive of the delights of this railroad or
that steamer route as means of getting
to the place where You propose to make
your summer sojourn. For weeks hotels
and cottages and boarding houses have
been in process Of preparation for vaca-
TONERS and are now beginning to fill
with summer folk. Rowboats on in
terror lakelets have been put in order,
ytagecoaches that are idle all the rest of
the year have been furnished, the gentle
theological student has found place to
'wait" short, the vacation season is
here; here, with all its genuine pleasure,
its healthful rest, its sound sleep, it's
rowing and sailing, its tramping and
riding, its fishing and shooting; here,
likewise, with all its rush and worry
and sham and keartburnings for there
are vacations and vocations. There are
persons who take their vacations sensi-
bly,, who get some real benefit from
them, and who return to their daily oc-
equations refreshed and better able to
grapple with the problems of existence.
and there are other persons who do not
understand the real object of vacations
persons to whom the vacation is the
hardest time of the year, who return
tired and dragged out and cross. To
these persons it were better if vacations
should not come
The first requisite of successful va
cation is that it shall afford change. 1t
Is for this reason that the city family de-
lights to gointo the green country; that
the busy man of affairs is fain to seclude
himself where he may wear old clothes
and fish to his hearts content; that the
overworked editor HES himself to some
spot where he cannot even see news
paper. 1t is on the same principle, too,
that the dweller of a small interior town
delights to shut up his house and betake
himself to New York or Chicago or some
other big city; that the dweller in the
mountains gravitates to the seashore,
and that he who lives within sound of
the surf the year round gets as far from
the beach as he can. This element of
change smuch more important than the
element of rest. It not infrequently
happens that the vacationer is on the go
during the entire time of his absence
from his regular haunts, but returns
greatly improved.
1t is likely that the greatest sufferers
from the vacation habit are the society
women who have manageable daugh-
ters and determine to use the outing sea-
son for the purpose of hunting up hus-
bands for the girls. To these worthy
women this season must be a terror in
deed. And If the eligible young men
for whose delectation these society moth.
ers deck out their daughters in gorgeous
attire, and for whom all sorts of alluring
entertainments are prepared, do not en-
Joy life to the full during the summer
AAoA1Ao~Wny, auloli, tueS0 young u0u
haven't great deal Of good sense, that's
all.
The fact that Chicago is holding big
Worlds fair this year has tendency to
disturb the normal flow of vacation trav-
Ell. The regular weeks at the shore and
in the mountains will be omitted in some
cases, and Of course this carries with it
diminution of the amount of money
that will be expended in the regular way.
It seems likely, however, that this dim
mutton will be greater in the direction
of the summer schools than the resorts
that have no educational features or the
quiet country places. In fact, several
summer schools have decided to suspend
their sessions this year because of the
Worlds fair, their conductors realizing
that the educational significance of the
exposition is SO great as to be likely to
draw largely from their constituencies.
But while it is undoubtedly good thing
to go to the Worlds fair it is not likely
that trip thither will afford any one
the rest and recreation that are needful at