The Coolidge examiner., 1933-07-07
INNS
ARE CHARMING
Old Hostelries Scattered All
Over the Country.
Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington, d. C.-WNU Service.

/ISI1O1NS 10 EISldLu lllIo ye''l
/ " find that the old English
inn still has its sign out. 1t
continues a distinctly going con
Germ" OF this fact many a Red
Lion or Green Dragon bears plain
witness by its record of active hos
/ pitality dating back for hundreds of
years without a break. Should one
/ imagine it at all a mOribund affair
in its last bloom. highly picturesque
/ but fated soon to disappear along
with other landmarks of antiquity,
he is greatly mistaken. Neither is
it holding on merely by virtue of ac-
quired impetus, as he might possibly
/ fancy.
The old inn is very living factor
/ indeed in the scheme of modern ex-
istence. Attracted by its ineffable
charm, thousands habitually resort
thither for lodging or refreshment,
and most innkeepers are fully aware
of the substantial advantage they
derive by preserving in their prem
ises all the essentials of ancient
/ character.
Now and then it happens that an
old hostelry seems to be altogether
one of those idyllic survivals from
a bygone day. so Invested by mys-
teriOuS, elusive halo of romance, and
so hidden In some Out-of-the-way
corner that one can come upon it
only by the barest lucky chance-a
thing whose discovery you must
ever afterward cherish in the laven-
| der and rose petals of memory as
/ an experience too rare to befall one
mortal twice in a lifetime But, as
matter of actual fact, old inns are
dotted over the whole length and
breadth of England.
Most of the Swans and Mermaids.
/ the Mitres, White Harts, and
Crowns, are not concealed in remote
/ places, far off the beaten lines of
travel, so that they have to be made
/ the objects of special visits to be
seen No particularly keen sight is
required to discover them.
Plenty of Inns Everywhere.
Besides all the old inns you cannot
help discovering on the main roads
and in the towns, there are those
/ others. of course on lonely heaths
or fronting peaceful village green's.
/ There are likewise modest "or-
/ dinaries" by the Drinks of the little
/ rivers where the disciples of Izaak
l Walton love to lodge. And there are
/ inns at bridge ends or where roads
meet, to say nothing of seaside inns
/ whose windows look out 10 sea or
command busy harbor views.
In short. there are plenty of them
/ of all kinds to offer an admirable
/ field for the collectors. And a more
fascinating holiday hobby than col
lecting old inns it would be hard to
/ imagine.
Time and again at an inn you
] W III NAdnAt ultbll a DlN VI AASiOAg VI
romance and find the local associa-
| tons with some famous parsonage
proudly treasured by the country
folk. Think, for instance, of drop
ping into Dick Turpin's birthplace,
the Rose and Crown, in the Essex
hamlet of Hampstead! Think of
drinking a toast on the spot to the
memory of that doughty knight of
the road His father was the
Hampstead publican of that day,
and the people thereabout all knew
Dicks story and can point out to
you his cockpit. now marked by
ring of trees, just across the way.
Whether you purposely make
/ pilgrimage to the old inns. or
whether you casually seek their shell
ter, bear in mind that they are nei-
/ ther Ritz-Carltons nor Biltmores.
/ Put aside for a little while your ac-
customed notions of Twentieth cen
/ tury luxury and splendOr Be will
| ing to take things as you find them.
/ For a day or two. forget about the
regiment of uniformed pages you
generally see in establishments-the
hall porters, the bedside telephones,
and all the array of patent electric
gadgets that can be switched on and
off at will.
PASS liz the uxlIries
All or some of these adjuncts you
may be surprised to meet with in
more than one old inn where you
would least expect to find them but
if you find none of them, it will do
you no harm to walk upstairs in
stead Of being taken up in a lift, or
to go to bed by the light of candle
instead of the glare of a 32-candle
power electric bulb.
What you are always certain to
find in all of these old ordinaries
win be comfort of really homely,
substantial kind, scrupulous clean
liness. genuine courtesy, from mine
host down to boots" and unfeigned
| hospitality whose character none
could mistake. Not least in adding
its share to your enjoyment will be
that battling atmosphere that per-
vades well-kept hOstelries of long
repute. If you are at all sensitive.