The semi-weekly messenger., 1905-08-25
PORTSMOUTH IS QUITE Dull
Little Impressed by its Place I'm Words
Eye-tTnc Drive for DELEGATES
Youns Woman.s Flower Picture Re-
called Home 10 japanese.

! Eye-tinc Drive for DELEGATES
Young Woman.s Flower Picture Re-
called Home To japanese.
| Especial to Washington Post.l
| Portsmouth. n. H. August 1.-THE
fact that Il Is the capital OF the world
just now does not seem to have i'm
pressed Portsmouth a great deal. Only
by striking an average can this be cali.
ed the conference of Portsmouth any
way, for the navy yard. where the del
egates are meeting Is across the rive-
and also across the border Of temper
ate Maine, and the Hotel Wentworth is
about four miles as the wagon drives.
Twice day the automobiles carrying z
the delegates scorch through town. and
Portsmouth lifts itself from the crack
er box, says, There they go" and falls
asleep again
The drive of the delegates Is through
New England at its prettiest. The road
to the navy yard winds for some six
miles about the ramifications of the
river and bay. 1t Is lined for good
part OF the way with woods OF green
a regular New England duck pond
with little watermill. and a New
England farmer in his shirt sleeves
watching history seorch by. Twice Ii
crosses the wide, peaceful Piscatauua
river, which carries in these, days =
multitude of little boats and canoes It
runs past mansions Of the eighteenth
century, proud in their superb colonial
doorways. al prim and white. Il turns
into a corner of sleepy, pretty Ports
| mouth, town which is all of the pas
Every other house is colonial or early
American, the business blocks are
boxes of buildings, economically 5uilt
as to caves, presenting square, unor-
namented rows Of front windows. The
inhabitants seem as prim as the build
ings. They walk the streets with con-
cientious precision. Ask one of them
the way, and he or she will stop, lead
you to the corner, give minute direc-
tions, pass, perhaps, a bit of gossip
about the weather, and bid you a cheer
full good day.
TOY TOWN OF KITTERY.
Over the river is Kittery and The
navy yard. Kittery, from the other
bank, presents a few rows of box-like
houses scattered about at the will Of
| utterly irresponsible streets. The
houses in the distance look like the
houses of a German toy box. Each
stands amid high old elms. The las
building before the navy yard bridge is
Chinese laundry, the last one before
! that is general notion store, in whose
windows the star exhibit is THE Life
0f E1ron I'd In ty-n /.
umes, for this is Maine, where the
emissaries of the lands Of Vodka aiIi
rice brandy are meeting.
A correspondent, who has seen most
of the world except New England, said
to the navy yard:
'By Jove, your New England writer's
have done their local color we'll
keep thinking I've seen it all before. "
Witte and Rosen on these drives pay
little attention to the scenery. Witts
when undisturbed is always deep in
thought. The Japanese, on the other
hand, watch the road and always turn
back to look at the duck pond, which
has something IF the effect of Japan
ese gardening.
The navy yard shows no signs of the
The approach is by bridge over the
river A marine guard patrols it, and
even keeps loiterers off the bridge.
This same guard is turned out and pa
raded whenever the ENJOYS pass. When
the 1000 employees enter the yard al 8
and / o'clock they must show Official
passes. This rule is observed to the
letter. A marine guard also patrols the
approaches to the general stores build
ing. Otherwise. repairing, scraplng.
and building 60 on as ever.
CAUGHT EYES OF JAPANESE.
A young woman of the hotel going
for her morning constitutional broke a
branch from a Towering tree this
morning, carried it with her to the dim
ing-room, and popped it into small!
| pitcher in the center of the table. Com
| ing out from luncheon Japanese cor
respondent passed. He stopped, stared
very slightly, and began TO range about
| the table, watching that branch. Soon
| another Japanese correspondent ap-
peared. Not to seem impolfte, they
Withdrew after a little, but found an
excuse to re-enter the dining-room and
! to pass that table twice. After them
came an under secretary of the lega-
ton. He stopped in his tracks, looked,
and smiled. There followed the cor
rect Mr.. Matsumoto, Of the Japanese
Parliament. Another stop. The cor
respondents on their second back trip
met them The five Japanese stood
smiling and talking in undertones. Tue
American girl who owned the Towering
branch noticed the direction of their
eyes.
"Wou1d you like some of the fiow-
ers?" she asked, and reached her hand
toward the pitcher.
81 beg you do not touch it, said one
of the correspondents; ''you-you
were taught in Japan
The American girl looked very puZ-
zled until another correspondent ex-
planned that quite by accident and with
a natural eye for beauty she had done
a pretty piece of work in the japanese