The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-09-05
A House Party in AndOver.

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Sunday morning dawned "brite and
fair but hot-so hot that no one felt
very ambitious, and the shade of the
big maple in the center of the lawn
proved popular place. There, chairs
from the veranda and porch, a supply
of cushions, and the latest hooks and
magazines from the well-laden sitting
room table, made an ideal out-of-door
lounging place and there quiet day
was spent. Some of us, however, could
hardly keep our eyes away from the
beautiful view before us long enough to
progress very far in our reading. From
the lawn where we sat the fields sloped
away before us, and formed the So
called "Intervale' through which
flowed the Ellis river, its course defined
by the fringe of trees along its banks.
Across the river was more intervale,
then houses scattered along the road
that>was invisible to us, and behind
that the mountains, whose wooded sides
greeted ones eyes everywhere. Across
the river about a mile away the village
was clustered, the spires of its churches
and the white painted houses showing
up through the trees. Later on, tour
of discovery resulted in finding some
attractive Photographic postcards at
one of the stores at 'the Corner" and
one was an excellent reproduction of
the view upon which we Toasted our
eyes during that quiet, restful day.
An interesting account of Andover
and its environs is found in Captain A.
J. Farrar's Through the Wilds."
The Congregational church, whose
pastor is Rev. TX H. Derrick, formerly
of Standpoint, was thought to be
closed, but we learned later when a
delegation attended the Christian En-
deavor service in the evening that a
minister had been found to supply the
pulpit at the last minute. Sunday
evening the piano was put to good use,
and some of the familiar hymns, uni
versally loved, were sung before the re-
firing hour.
Monday bid fair to be repetition of
the preceding day, so far as temperature
went, and again the out of-door sitting
room under the maple, where the breezes
kept down the too ambitious mercury,
was our gathering place when play
time came Though for that matter
there was very little time that wasn't
play time, for with five fun-loving girls
dishwashing and kindred duties became
nothing more than series of jolly good
times. Monday afternoon our quiet was
invaded by the honk-honk of an auto
mobile horn, and into the driveway
! came a dust-covered car, in which we
recognized a member of the family
and of our party who had been the
guest of friends in Dixfield upon our
arrival, and his fellow-townsman, class
mate and fraternity brother at Maine
| sHerbie" Thomas, whose new Buick
car had covered the IS rough and billy
miles from Rumford Falls in less than
an hour. Greetings all around followed,
and the ladies of the party had an ex-
cellent opportunity for observing at
close range the frat grip" without
any very definite results, however.
After brief conversation we had an
invitation to "see the town" from the
vantage point of the auto, and the three
strangers started off with a blare of
trumpets and were whirled down the
road, through an avenue of tall elm
trees, through covered bridge, and up
the road to "the Corner" Past the
schoolhouse and the common we went
and up an attractive road, past saw
mill, over a bridge, and out into the
country for some distance before turn
ing and retracing our way to the COM
mon and exploring another road. This
one was bordered by several handsome
places owned and occupied by summer
visitors. Our third departure from the
common took us through the village
proper, past the stores, hotels, and
pretty residences, and on into the coun-
try to the fair ground, where ''the best
fair in the State" according to our
Chauffeur, is held annually. From there
we looked across the intervale and be-
held the yellow gables of the hospitable
house that was home to US for the time.
Turning again, we returned through the
town, through the bridge and past the
house at a merry pace, and then for a
favorite drive around the eight-mile
square,"
The road, which of itself was excel
lent, lay through park-like woods in
which no underbrush was visible and
which it was hard to believe were not
some public reservation. Looking ahead
the trees seemed to form series of
gothic arches overhead, while in the
distance the blue mountains served as
the ever-present background for the pic
ture. As we neared South Andover
the woods were left behind, and for a
short distance it seemed that We must
be headed directly for steep mountain
slope ahead. When we were in its very