Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1903-01-22
In Ethan Aliens County.

IN Etnan Ailen-S OOuutfI.
Under the above title, Julian Ralph hal
an interesting sketch in the January mum
Der Of Harper's Monthly. Last summer
Mr.. Ralph, in company with an artist
made trip over Rochester mountain from
Brandon to Rochester, and then up ia
= Hancock. He calls it 'sthe most beautiful
drive in New England" The whole arti-
Gle is full OF interest to those acquainted
with the scenes he describes.
Rochester village gave him feeling OF
surprise at the "manner IN which we
dropped from a mountain top INTO a tidy,
prosperous village ablaze with electric
lights. All through Ethan Aliens coun-
try electric light is abundant"
From Rochester the party "meant to
push on to a village called Hancock, fam
ed all through the Ethan Allen country
for possessing hotel in which the most
delicious game dinners, enriched by peer
less garden produce, are to be enjoyed.
| Nowhere had il been said that the journey
to Hancock was noteworthy in any re-
spect, and we set out upon il as pilgrims
start for Mecca, with no thought for any
thing on the journey but the end. Thus
| IL fell out that this tail end OF our little
voyage in the Green Mountains startled
and then entranced us by its wondrous
charms. Today, after having taken, IN
broad day, the famed ride TO which we
had looked SO eagerly forward, it is re-
membered only as a fairly pleasant pre- |
Jude, and we declare the most beautiful |
drive in New England THAT we have seenl /
to be the half-hour journey from Roches-
ter to Hancock.
'Ihe youngster who wondered why
rivers always flow by large cities should
travel in the mountains and then put his
next question why do rivers always run
by road Here it was the White river
that displayed fraternity for the earthen
highway The White river inst ont nfI
Rochester, recalls the appearance of the
Thames above Maidenhead, yet has such
noble accessories as the English river no.
where boasts, soft hills sloping towards ii
on either hand and everywhere showing a
carpeting as rich in soft harmonious col
ors as an Oriental rug. The tiny river val
ley bottom was decked with the capacious
white homes and still larger red farm
Of prosperous band Of farm
RS, some of whose houses could be moved
into our own New York suburbs without
losing their attractiveness or seeming out
II place. The wires OF the telephone and
lectric light ran across be pastures to
ONE of these homesteads and suggested
he bold thought that in another decade
v two, perhaps, our most enterprising
grieultursts may light 40 their farms at
light and hurry IN their hay, or do their
arly summer hOeing while their slower
eighbors lie abed.
- VIM NAAah@ HDAANf AABRAAE ~ RANAA VI
rec leaves, announced the neighborhood
Hancock. Upon the porch OF the com
lonplace- looking hotel stood the propri-
Tor, an easy, kindly, rough face boniface,
'oubled by the bad news he felt certain
e must break to us. His cook. the best
! all that countryside had left him for
he winter and his wife was ILL.,, he was
one and could entertain nobody. He
i'd over and over again that he was very
try and to these WOrCHE he added phrases
very hattering and so we'll chosen that
: magnIfied our misfortune in our minds
ID grew to respect in ourselves aH the
lportance his words imputed to us. 1T is
I'D to have to turn you gentlemen from
e door. would be proud If could en-
-tain gentlemen like you { fulB-page
cture here represents the well-lmown -
lncock hotel with Nine Host Miller
lnding in front, with his hands tolded
er hIs breast, uttertng the above senti- ~
,nts.) lC.
AS we drove up to the daor Of the Han for
elk hotel, we thought it poor and min \
ing. Today we would go many miles hol
{ of our way to stop Tiers" EN-
fhe gifted proprietor of tae hotel led his Ga
ests INFO his Kitchen and gave them a :
ge, plump partridge and gave them di- ~
,tions where TO find his cook in the log ~
lg camp above, and thither the party III
lrneyed, where tsey enjoyed a meal nal
ong the best they had ever tasted and s ',a
lrd about ''the man up here whe gets eve
the bear skins and deer horns and W.
Ids and sells most OF EN- in Boston. ~, ~
makes good living at It." I'VE all w ~
ognize IN this hers c. NJ. Robbins. the ,.'I
~ ~ ~ ~ ',,.Ii S,,Sr AN
lps.)
owards the close of the article. Mr. =
ph depicts the glorious iew seen from san
top OF the mountain, looking d0En on -
one side upon the sumptuous White IN
rer valley and ON the other upln the Il
toric Champlain valley filed with J.
NY points of inteRst. n