The Washington herald., 1920-09-19

TT WAS as capricious as any day In April
although late summer. l had started out
on foot and in sunshine, but was glad before
long to accept lift from a numbering oIu
sutotruek and its timely shelter from the
drenching shower which had so soon over
taken me. The long driveway which Wlnd5
upward to the home Of John hendrlck
Bangs, where l was bound, received the
full force of the storm. The rain and the
wind had tossed the flowers IN MIS-
Bangss garden-the white lilies hung ther
heads aud leaned for support on the totter-
ing delphiniums, but the old sun dial stoou
erect, untouched by the wind and rain ana
seemed to say in derision-'Iime alone ID
eternal"
Gray Rocks" as Mr.. Bangs calls his
home, is not only descriptive Of the rocks
On which the house is perched but Gray
was also Mrs. Bangss name. High up on
the cliffs it stands on the edge of the little
village Of Ogunquit on the Maine coast
and its panorama of sea and sky, "f land
aud distant hills is unmatched. Ogunquit,
to Mr.. Bangs, lis the one place I've ever
lived where l can get all the aloofness with
out being eIiled from human contact. 1t
is the resort Of professional people VINO
come here to work, and, consequently, there
has sprung up an absence of social 'musts'
Why, in a radius of ten or fifteen miles 1
can find vigorous minds and half hour
ride from my home any hour Of the day L
can meet people like Thomas Nelson Page,
Peter Finley Dunno. George A. Gordon
that fine spirit-from New Old South
Church of Boston and Booth Harrington,
to say nothing of the inspiring contact with
painters and sculptors of distinction, who
come here either to start or finish their
work. 1t is a place where one may come as
near the heights of Parnassus as anywhere
l know anything about. The only obJec-
tior is the shortness of the season, in which
respect it is excelled by southern California.
second in my liking. l must say further for
the Maine coast, that it fills one with vigor
and the necessary quality of pep required
in these active days. From my feelings
in southern California, think l should be-
come somewhat of a lizard if 1 lived there.
know of NO intellectual or spiritual byway
in which a man is inclined to wander, in
which he cannot find full satisfaction right
here in OgunQuit.
will you come in?'' Mr.. Bangs had
been standing IN the doorway watching the
storm as it swept seaward. followed him
10 his library with its enchanting soft light
filtered in through the big stained glass
windows at the end of the room. Those
windows had always been my admiration,
and 1 asked him to tell me something about
them. They were made by Maitland Arm
strong in New York" he answered, land
they represent the book in preparation and
the book after it is pubIshed-the first win
dow is the lamp of study and the second
the torch of publicity.
The room is charming not only in it:
light but from a color sense. Rows ant
rows of books line the wall space and pic
lures in many mediums hold the eye. The
white birch in the huge fireplace seemed lik'
a boulder dropped from the mantel- breast
Many of the writer's books are rare edi
tiors, for collecting manuscripts and auto
traph copies is hobby of his-'but not il
the sense of going to auction sales to pur