The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-06-23
"VERMoNTER,s AT HOME

ought properly to preface this sub
ject, said Col. Goulding at Chicago, re-
Gently, by the remark, that strictly
speaking, many of them are now here
in Chicago with us-all, or say, samples
of the good natured, pleasant spoken
Vermonters, the mere mention of whose
nativity is passport to favor anywhere
in this country. "Where are you from?i
vermont" ''Give us your hand, so
am l." is a formula repeated every
where all over our broad land
Now Vermonters at home, for l must l
suppose allude to the sentiment by inn
plcation at least-as my memory runs
back over the years that have silvered
my locks and bowed my form, and as
you can see, as the old Indian put it,
have killed me at the top-Vermonters at
home, was going to say, the larger part
of them, were hard-headed, hard handed,
early rising, agricultural gentlemen; at
daylight calling: "Boys, boys, get up,
time to milk them critters again" Or
some of them, even, have heard drop
ping corn by the light of a lantern held
by a nodding, sleepy, shivering boy.
And then the chores done, the cease
less round, according to the season, be-
gun, wood-cutting aud hauling, swinging
that old dull scythe on rainy days in the
weeds and thistles, boiling the sap in
old cauldron kettles, slipping around in
snow paths gathering with neck-yoke
and the two buckets, hauling one in di-
verging directions-you remember the
yanks they gave you'll used to think it
was called neckyoke because it made
your neck ache so. Then how nice to
fill your boot with syrup as you crossed
tho xyon la 70 tho hnncn yyhapa
the women with never-ending stir,
sugared it off But this is all ancient
history now; compare it with the
methods that have made that little State
the sweetner of all the rest, famed
among them all. The muddy game of
ball ON Fast day, the Governors Sunday.
religiously observed.
The spelling schools, the singing
schools, the sleigh rides, with the dis
Greet silent hills, the winking stars look
ing wisely on.
The country dances in the cheese room
before the invention of the creamery and
factory, all these and many mole rise be-
fore us as we recall the Vermonters at
home of other days. Now how changed.
His is is a sedentary pursuit, he rides
the new farm machinery, not perhaps
with the abandon and grace of his west
ern brother, but well enough for his con-
tracted fields. All the modern improve
ments have dawned upon us. The temin-
ines are wise with Chautauqua,y yea with
Smith and Wellesley learning, societies
flourish, the county fair has been evolved
into display Of stock OF all kinds, ami
NAL and human, simply wonderful
whichever way one looks; there is no
variety of flower but grows in luxurious
profusion on our ladies' hats, no Ian
guage but our daughters murder or tor
ture into writing unrecognizable
shapes. The click of the typewriter, the
stony glare or downcast glance of the
stenographer, the modern Hello, Cen
trial, buzz up 5000 again." has pene-
trated our wilds, and Vermonters at
home are up in the business race, well
toward the froLt; what they don't know
about scales and organs and butter and
celery compound and SPAWN cure isn't
worth knowing, while their marble and
slate 90 all over the world. Lumber and
spring water with just little fzz in it
you know are among the lmmensities
there. Vermont reporters know every
thing that is going to happen before it
occurs, just as they do here or anywhere
else. Vermont editors hurl metaphor
cal figures of speech with as much vigor
as any, keeping weather eye the while
on interested subscribers. Club rates
with the club thrown in for the author
of spring poetry are in vogue there.
They even roll in the luxury of Wagner
cars, accompanied by the fifty-cent por-
ter, observant, cute, careful, wanting to
know, you know, and generally finding
out. Oh, they are great, especially at
home, you know them as well, far bett er
than l, let's give them a rest, They
are here at the Exposition, or at home
waiting to hear about it, vastly proud of
every achievement, every success of
their sons and daughters in the wide, the
boundless, the once wild and woolly, but
now the booming, blooming west.