News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1908-09-02
A SUMMER VACATION

ia, Republican Mr.. Danforth is part
ner of Henry e. Wiley, native o,
Waterville, but for many years a residen
of Dakota. The article is full of Interest
and we give herewith the writer's de
scription of his visit to Waterville:-
Twenty.eight miles northeast of Bur
lington, is Cambridge Junction, and here
we left the train for short cross-country
ride to Waterville via the stage route. II
must have beena busy travelling season,
for there were nine stage passengers
that morning all bound for the same
place. Waterville is but four miles dis.
tant, but there are hills some hills on the
way, The first one was the steepest, and
when the horses started down the incline
on the lope we felt our hat going straigh
up. But noticing that the rest of the
passengers paid no attention to little
| hill like that, we concluded that it would
be best to keep cool an say nothing.
Then followed other hills and the same
speed, and we soon came to enjoy the
sensation looked eagerly for more
hills. The road lay along the Lamoille
| Valley, and with the river and adjacent
meadows on one side aud II range OF high
| hills on the other, there was plenty to
the up aud-down.hill proposition.
Snugv nestled in among the hills and
skirted b., branch of the Lamoille River,
lies the village OF Watervllle. Around
this seoueserted nook the Almighty has
seen fit to place some Of the falrest handi-
work. At this season of the year, look
in any direction you may, a vision of
beauty greets the eye. rhe rugged hills
covered with their forests Of green, the
river below where the watrr "ipples over
bed of solid rock, the log winding
street, the quiet, peaceful homes of the
village, formed picture, which If trans
ferred to canvas would make its artist
author word-famous. Aud snit happened
that particular hazy Indian-summerike
day, as we stepped from the stage to the
porch of the Mountain Spring House,
we were touched by that feeling of rest
fulness and quiet that made us wish that
fortune had decreed that our entire va.
cation period was to have been spent in
this place. And the longer we tarried
here the more that feeling grew upon us.
We landed there an entire stranger-no,
not exactly that, for this was once the
home of Editor and Mrs. Willey,-and in
one way and another we felt that we were
already acquainted with good share of
the people of the village. But never
having met them personally, we held that
we were but stranger still. We soon
had this notion yanked out of our head,
the announcement of our coming had for
preceded us, and we had hardly time to
ensconce ourself in that big armchair on
the hotel porch ere we were greeted by a
number of those who were expecting our
arrival that day, and had unerringly
spotted us as the tourist they were look
ing for. We do not claim to be fighter,
but we can lick the fellow who says New
England people are not whole souled and
hospitable. We know-we have eX-
perienced their hospitality, and it is not
of the lukewarm sort either. Look
we'll to the stranger that is within thy
gates" is apparently one of the tenets of
their social life, and this seemed to be
applied with double force in our par
ticular case.
The three days that we spent here were
filled with that sort of pleasure that
leaves lasting impression. Kind friends
took us to places of interest in the inn
mediate Vicinity, and to points where we
could see the surrounding country to the
best advantage. The afternoon of the
day of our arrival we had the opportunity
of visiting the farm where Editor Wiley
first saw the light of day. To describe
the place as it appears to day would re-
quire more space than we have allotted
to us, even though we had the time at
our command. Novel writer's would call
it romantic spot, and we would be in
clined to agree with them. "Stony
Brook Far a." as it is called by our ed
itor, is one of the best known places in
the vicinity, and we'll it deserves the
name. The rock on the place, if it could
be laid down in Vermillion tomorrow.
would be worth many thousands of dol |
lars. 1t was on the trip to Stony Brook |
that, for the first time since we left the |
old farm back in Wisconsin, we were
privileged to eat ripe blackberries fresh |
from the bushes.
The second day trip up the mountain |
back of the village took us to point from |
which could be obtained the best view of |
all the surrounding country. From this |
point we could see far down the Lamoille |
Valley with it's green meadows and fer |
tile fields, and see the railroad as it |
wound in and out up and down the vale |
in its endeavors to select the most feas-
ible path to other points. Over to the |
right was Mt. Mansfield, the Mecca of |
the tourists to this section of the state.
1t is the tallest of the many lofty noun
tain peaks in Vermont. Over to the left |
was Bakersfield mountain and notch, |
with numerous other elevations that as
yet have not been endowed with names.
The third day drive in another direc-
ton took us out to the Ithiel Falls camp
grounds. This is beautiful spot, stu
ated on rocky prominence overlooking
the Lamoille River, and affords SPLEEN
did place for the large camp-meeting that
is held here every summer. The day
was an exceedingly warm one, and on
our return to the village we were glad to
seek the shade on the lawn of Water
Vile home, where most of the afternoon
was spent. Toward evening it became
cooler, and after supper we were taken
for another interesting drive. The route
this time lay in the opposite direction
from that of the morning trip. 1t took
US to the neighboring village of Belvidere
and then around the base of another
through pleasant drives, across
oebbly streams, up hill and down hill, to
Belvidere Center, another of the numer-
BUS small villages in this vicinity. A
short stop here, and we were on the road
again, returning by different route to
5elvidere and Uack to Waterville.
Our side trips and these pleasant drives
we're all over the winding roads, skirting
he mountain bases along the river