Putnam patriot., 1911-05-05

uould you. my readers. who are en-
 ''.g inc pleasure of magazine and loyInso or possibly the luxury of a naLnAd and Morris chair, like little ooOA oDoO.sion7 If so, come with me, in eTnorv oieeaS- to the hill town of Maple hurst ,;,es from the staam
 mn many hill, over sandy caIS' caa3cbes. by village greens, winding soS and picturesque mill pond, past plUS pleasant farm, brings you in hians aht of that quiet hamlet which holds sls a4fec+ionate place m our thought and memory ,s ., anu we enter it's streets. lined with ,s1ytiful naples, it's fields of grain and pe courtesy to us Tn welcome; its @ .o birds meadow larks, robins and plee Ieo,as seem to vie with each other in ol loatness and volume, as they render ssojs svlvan symphonies. We scan the tne'a tnuaramic view before us to the west In-d The white church steeple first arrests our gaze, and seems to beckon ,s onward. As we approach nearer to .Lo center of this community We find eesorv+hipg quiet and orderly. Nature sas most effectively swept her brush nas aross this corner of the universe, and au has architecturally added to the .aats'nmeness" of the place. As yet ,aitber the gypsy moth nor the hook ,roru have presumed to enter these
 Hncincts. and so we find the trees Beautiful in foliage, the lawns we'll tont and the orchards and gardens sued with market produce.
 Tbere are communities in which .ho stores as well as saloons seem to onon wide their doors wholly for com mereial purposes. Such are city es- +obIisbments where individuality is ,sereed or submerged in the great gme of greed and gain.
 Put visitors to this hamlet receive +beir most hospitable welcome at the ,dlage store, where the coming of the rnrai stage coach is hopefully await ed twice a day
 Mail. merchandise and passengers are brought by the same conveyance. Although not equalling the record of Chicago express for speed, the hour of arrival of this stage coach is fully as accurately realized. The mail bags are soon opened and contents sorted by Unele Sams kindly-faced represen- tatiye. who is the composite person of nostmaster. storekeeper and informa- tion bureau. And here is a type of the real country merchant. Post cards 10 him constitute the associated press. Rut then we forgive him for this com mon offense, as he is most obliging when waiting or customers. If you buy a yard or twenty yards of calico, you receive the same courtesy. Is it any wonder, with post cards in his hands and telephone to his ear, that he is the information bureau of the community?
 message caught at random from oyer the wire foreteIlfng the approach of city parties he announces by spe- cial bulletin, and when New York aris- tocracy arrive they wonder how their advent was even dreamed of. But by means of this special message they were more fittingly entertained. This was before the days of wireless, when the simple telephone was curi- osity and it's ring of momentary inter- est to those who had the time and in- clination to listen.
 Many are the interesting people we meet in this hamlet, and each is busy with his own vocation, while some even enjoy an ayocation.
 Culture and refinement are adroitly blended with mental and menial occu- pations. 'Tis here we meet Yale all umnus. one of the most cultured and respected citizens, who has faithfully served both church and state, who is lawyer, judge, chief justice, preacher, if need be, the friend of the poor, the teachers eoadjutor and the children's sympathizer.
 There are no problems of town, country or state but what, at critical times, his advice is solicited and coun- sel needed Tall, erect, his crown GOV cred with a wealth OF dark brown hair tinged with grey, mild blue eye that speaks love and sympathy, yet stern when occasion calls. Ready to coast down hill with his children, and even willing to offer himself as sacrifice to the snow banks for the sake of add ing to the jollity of the winter sport.
 If the walls of his office could re- verberate as human lungs, many are