Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-03-07

| Just rs sure as you're born woman!
What makes you think soY says she.
Well says l. do you s'pose anybody
that want foolish would be for spend
in good money on an old house to
make 1t older? says. Coin to tear
down the piazza the fust thing! Per
fectly good piazza that cost $500 to
build: know. because ] see the bill
when the Howeses had It done. And
he's goin' to set out box hedges, some
thin that amt been the style In this
town sence Congressman Atkins pull
ed up his. What In the wide world.
Cap'n Whitaker says l to him. do
you want Of box hedges7 Homely
and stiff and funeral lookin'! I might
have 'em around my grave In the bury
In ground I says, but nowheres else
All right. Angie says he. you shall
have 'em there. I'll cut some slips pur-
pose for you. It'll be pleasure he
says. Now. amt that crazy talk for a
grown manT
Miss Phinney was not the only one
in our village to question Captain Cy
whittaker's sanity during the next
few months The majority Of our peo-
pie didn't understand him at all. he
was generally liked. for. although he
had money. he did not put on airs. but
he had his own way Of doing things.
and they were not Bayport ways.
True to his promise. he had squad
Of carpenters busy. on the day fol.
lowing his arrival. tearing down the
loathed piazza. These carpenters and
more were kept busy throughout that
entire spring and we'll into the summer.
Then came painters and gardeners.
The piazza disappeared; a new picket
fence, exactly like the old one torn
down by the HOweses, was erected;
new shutters were hung; new window.
panes were set; the roof was newly
shingled. Captain Cy senior had In
his day cherished New England fond
ness for white and green paint: there
fore the new fence was white and the
house was white and the blinds bril-
liant green. Rows Of box hedge. the
plants brought from Boston. were set
out on each side Of the front walk. The
Howes' front door bella clamorous
gong-was removed, and glass knob
attached to n spring bell Of the old
fashioned single" variety took Its
place. An old fashioned flower garden
Captain Cy's mother had loved po'
sies-was laid out on the west lawn
beyond the pear trees. All these
changes the captain superintendent
When they were complete he turned
his attention to interior decoration.
And now Captain Cy proceeded to
literally astonish the natives. Among
the Howes improvements" were gill
wall papers and modern furniture fol
the lower floor Of the house. The fur
niture they had taken with them: the
wall paper had perforce been left b.
hind. And the captain had every scral
Of that paper stripped from the wall:
and the latter recovered with quaint
ugly. old fashioned patterns, stripes
and roses and lowered sprays with I'm
possible birds fitting among them
The Bassett decorators had pasted The
gilt improvement over the old .Whittn
ker paper. and 1t was the Whitaker
paper that the captain did his best tC
match. sending samples here. there and
everywhere In the effort Then upon
the walls he hung old fashioned pic
lures. such us Bayport dwellers hal
long ago relegated to their nttics. pie
lures like From Shore TO Shore,
christian Viewing the City Benuu-
ful" and signing the Declaration.
To these he added. bringing them from
the crowded garrett OF the homestead
oil paintings Of ships commanded b.
his father and grandfather and family
portraits executed-which II pecul
iarly Gtting worldly deceased loca
artists In oil and crayon.