The Republican journal., 1915-09-02
Our Crawford House Letter.
Concerning the Discovery" of Maine
Hotel Life and the New Summit Hous.
on Mt. Washington.

MY DEAR JOURNAL. All day long in
dignat like a worm i the bud" has
been gnawing the cheerfulness out of
my disposition. A consuming dislike
has possessed me towards woman in a
magazine-the September Century mag
azine. When l decidedly dropped the
book this morning, and expressed my
feelings, Madam Serenity of the post
office department turned her big brown
eyes, "full of all sweet accord, upon me
in sad surprise. "You are too strong in
your likes and dislikes," she said. ''It
takes it out of you. You don't have to
like that woman; you don't have to dis
like her. Pass her by. Don't you know
what makes picture beautiful? You
sketch it as whole. You cannot go in
to every detail of landscape. LIS the
same with life." Very good, dear
Madam Serenity. l love you for your
great-hearted philosophy, but today a
cog slips by somewhere, and the ma
chinery does not do its work. The very
title of the thing that woman has writ
ten land it is we'll enough written, too)
irritates me. "We Discover New Eng
land" "Now," as somebody has said
somewhere, CHOW wouldn't that jar
you" What were the Pilgrim Fathers
doing, pray tell me, when they bumped
into Plymouth Rock away back in 1920?
My impression was that they, and others
like them, discovered New England
but it seems that New England was
never actually discovered until this
modern female Gothamite presumably
a Gothamite) invaded it with her auto
mobile. Until then 1.-the breaking
waves dashed high" and all the rest of
the things we learned in our school books
have been just fizzle. Well-its worth
something to feel that at last we have
been discovered. 1t ism t so much the being
discovered that ruff1ed my feathers till l
felt just the way big turkey gobler
looks when he's mad. My indignation
l
all about herself and was told very near
ly ali. She was from Maine and stayed
"to home' in the winter. She was mig
garaly with forks but generous with
knives. and this may have been the re-
suit of Maine influences" "Shades of
Longfellow and James G. Blaine,''
said to myself, what is this that has
rushed into literature. Louise Closer
Hale. Did your old grandfather curve
his spine and crook his fngerbones clear
ing up land and building wonderful stone
walls on some remote farm IN some re-
mote corner of Maine, and are your
memories of him conr ected with knife
instead of a fork? Do you feel deep
rooted spite against his native State and
him because the stone wall yet stands
an honorable monument, but barrier
to aspirations that would blazon a coat
of arms upon the door of your automo-
bile? l know your kind, Louise, and
their name Is Legion. 1t is either this,
or you feel grudge against the gra d
old State of Maine for her prohibition
law. Again, Louise, know your kind
and again, alas-their name is Legion.
My Indignation is MOI, as Madam Serenity
mischievously suggests, because the
coat fits, for we people of Maine can
handle fork as well as you, if we can
not manipulate pen as well-but it is
because you and your kind, with your
slurs against Maine and against New
England "slowness, are striking at the
very vitals of America; the America that
we love; the America that our forefathers
lived for, and fought for and died for
in the days long before you and your
kind had discovered New England. You
are doing away with Americas Sab
bath. When you have done away with
her Sabbath and religion, you will have
done away with her strength and her hon.
or, her purity and her power; and if you
cont nue. your discoveries the stars and
stripes will some day wave over a de-
generate and degraded nation. The
motto of Maine, Louise, is Dirigo, and
her sons and daughters are proud of her
and her motto. Wherever they are
found "Maine influences" are making
the world a cleaner, better place. May
Maine influences" continue until
America stands forth an emancipated
and saloonless nation, and the Sabbath
day is once more day of devotion and
worship, and men and women again find
their highest happiness in their homes
because home is pure and sacred place.
Now, dear Madam Serenity, Ego on
with your preachin.' have said my
say. Someone just said, ''Today is short;
Yesterday has gone; now if you have any,
thing to do, get busy" The remark
was not addressed to me in particular,
but like nervous horse when whip is
snapped in his vicinity, l jumped; and l
pass it along, thinking it may have the
same effect upon somebody else. "To-
day is short; yesterday has gone; now if
you have anything to do, get busy" A
few moments ago one of the parlor
maids came through the lobby with a
big branch of red autumn leaves-a pos