Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1896-02-27
A Letter From Yankee Land.
VANCEBoRo, MAINE.
February "a. 1896.

whether the TedueGs VI lLS llEGlo1E
will care to read another letter from
Maine or not, but in order that | may
at least give short account Of my
second trip to the land of ice and snow
and white-coated hills and valleys, l
write this letter, hoping that some II
not all will read it without regrettlng
that the space has not been used for
something more important While
boy at school l had impressed upon
nv memory by the teacher the imagl-
nary trip up the Mississippi river from
source to mouth, that the class might
see the diversity of soil. climate, pro-
ducts, etc. In coming from the Shen-
andoah Valley Goods very own coun-
trv) to this station, where with step
YOU can cross over the line and enter
foreign soil, you not only feel a change
of climate, but as you roll along on
railroads. from city to city, over hills
and valleys, across rivers and the
boundaries of States, you are brought
into contact with scenes almost as va
ried as those thrown upon the canvas
at a stereopticon show. You leave
Washington via the B. & O. Railroad
and run to New York in about FIVE
hours. You do not realize that you
are flying through space at such
rapid rate, so smoothly do the cars
glide on, although as the train, like
some great serpent, shakes its tail clean
Of one citS only to enter with It's head
another, you realize that the distance
between you and your home and the
friends You love Is growing rapidly
greater, and you become at once home
sick. Before you realize it you re-
member you have passed Philadelphia
and are now being fermed across from
Jersey City to the great New York
You leave the boat, follow the crowd
and are soon on Broadway, being
pushed and crowded banged up against
some opposing sidewalk passenger,
showed off the pavement uncomiorta-
Div close to the passing carriages, ac-
costed by some "sheeny' who wants
to sell you shoe strings, or another
fakir, all of the Morgan's Grove varle-
tv, who thinks your trousers need a
pair of his suspenders, and many other
little things, until all this hum of IN
dustrv confuses you and you feel like
the Girl from the third hill mountain
who has never been in town before.
But soon you extricate yourself from
the crowd and the confusion, get a
conveyance, and as you settle down to
cross the city you look out OF the VIM
dows and wonder at what your eyes
behold. We board the train once
more, and are seen cut OF the big city
and ON our way to Boston. We have
left behind the farms Of the Shenan-
doah Valley, of Maryland and Penn
svlvania. We see no cattle in the barn
wards, neither ricks Of straw nor shocks
of fodder. The climate is changing
and the farm provender and farm
stock are more closely housed. Man
ufacturing cities become as numerous
as villages in the South, and the smoke
from the shops of one town Is visible
to the citizens of another. The scene
Is changed Manufacture has taken
the place of agriculture. The majority
of the people have deserted the farm
for the factory. Having a day IN
Boston l was permitted again to see
some of the wonders of that city. In
a former letter l spoke of the old build
ings of historical interest and shall not
again refer to them. | strolled about
and investigated the stores, which
were enough to delight the vision Of
any lady, for the stores of Boston are
great. | noticed the quick movements
of the men as they hurried on intent
upon their business, and | also noticed
the INDEPENDENT, buslness-hke manner
in which the women passed from store
to store intent upon their shopping
am partly inclined to think that the
Boston woman is almost new. l dc
not mean to say that all Of them veal
boomers and ride bicycles, for only a
few of them do that. | mean that
! they assume duties that are generally
left to the men. For example, | went
into clothing store, and a lady came
| in, purchased and paid for underwear
for her better Cor worse) half, without
any provision being made for return
| ing it if it did not fit. Now our wo
men are not that new. Then another
woman with blood in her eye and
wart on her nose came in and SAID, :"
want to get a pair of trousers for John
He is my husband and Is Just TIVE
inches taller than | am. The Dos
of the store suggested that probably
the gentleman would do well to com
himself, as it was hard to select goo'
fit during his absence. Nonsense,
said the woman, che has got to work
| always buy his clothes and they al
WAYS fit him, for he is only two inche
taller than | am. With that sh
picked up one or two pairs Of the pants
held them up before her TO measur
them as to their length, then examined
one pair critically, asked the price an'
paid for them without further cere
mony. Now WASH she new? Our la
dies down home allow rs to buy our ow
trousers, if they do wear them atte
we get them. l went down to tn
wharf to see the immigration folks an
then looked at the vessels IN the har
Dor, loading and unloading their cal
goes, and at those coming in and de
parting upon the waves Of the eve
restless sea. | determined not t