The Republican journal., 1907-08-29
A House Party In Andover

When last June, during Commence
ment Week at the University of Maine,
few fortunate ones received all init
nation that there was to be house
party con" in August, and that Mr.. and
Mrs. John F. Talbot of Andover were
to be host and hostess, there was much
pleasurable anticipation and many
were the good bys "till August"
From the tenth to the seventeenth"
the later invitations read, and Satur-
day, August 10th, found the travelling
public augmented by three who gained
forces at West Minot on the former
Portland & Rumford Falls line, now
known as the Rangeley Division of the
Maine Central R. R. The first person
seen on the platform at West Minot as
the train drew in was the brakeman,
and under the official cap was recog-
nized the familiar face of Robley Nor
rison, S.A. E.and Maine O9, of Rumford
Falls, the oldest son of Judge A. E.
Morrison of that place.
After boarding the train and joining
forces with the expected third member
of the party we settled down to pleas
ant exchange of news, to which our
friend the brakeman added in his mo-
ments off duty. So interested were we
in conversation that we all but forgot
to watch for the buildings of Hebron
Academy as we flashed through the
town of Hebron, and the towns of Buck
field and Hartford had been passed al
most before we realized it. At Canton,
the fair ground where few days later
the Italians of the State held ceIebra-
ton and spent thousands of dollars in
fireworks-not to mention firewater-
was pointed out; and there, too, we
caught our first glimpse Of the Andres
coggin river, which was a picturesque
and ever-changing feature Of the land
scape as we went through Peru and
Rumford. At Peru the quaint toll
bridge, through which the thriving
little town of Dixfeld is reached, was
of interest. At Rumford Falls a gen.
eral shuttle occurred during the five
minutes wait. We here babe adieu to
Mr.. Mo rrison, whose work for the day,
begun at 8 a. NJ, ends at home again
at APO, and were obliged to change our
seats into the next car for the privi-
lege of journeying farther up the line
to Frye, an eighteen minute ride.
We regretted that the train schedule
did not allow time for the exploration
of Rumford Falls, one of the most en-
terprising and interesting of Maine
towns, but we judged that the sulphu-
rous smoke from the paper mills, and
the general air of hustle evident as we
passed through, were characteristics.
At Frye we alighted from the train
with alacrity, without even the tiniest
bit of envy for our fellow-travellers
bound for Bemis and the Rangeleys,
little farther up the line. On the plat
form the station agent and baggage
master, in one and the same person, was
standing over two pieces of baggage, re-
garding them with so careful a scrutiny
that it almost seemed as if their con-
tents must stand revealed before him.
A hasty glance up and down the plat
form failed to reveal anything more in
the baggage line, to our deep regret; for
the two suit cases should have been
three! A more or less frantic searching
of pockets and pocket books resulted in
the appearance of three checks, two of
which were exchanged for the suit cases
and the third was left in the care of the
agent, who obligingly agreed to send
the missing article along to Andover
by train as soon as it appeared. While
this arrangement was being made the
driver of handsome pair of black
horses attached to a two-seated, cover
ed blackboard was busy slowing away
our things, and we were soon started
on most delightful and refreshing
mile drive over the hills. The road lay
through the woods for the most part,
with here and there comfortable farm
house or bright green meadow. At
the notch we looked up on either side
to the mountains towering above us,
whose rugged and rocky sides still bore
up few Of the primeval monarchs of
the forest, and at whose feet beside the
road ran the clear little brook from
which our horses were refreshed. The
country was new to us and each new
vista opening up through the avenue of