Through her distinguished son, Secretary of War, John W. Weeks, New Hampshire has had the honor and the pleasure of entertaining, this month, the President of the United States. His few days upon the summit of an outpost mountain of the Presidential Range were for him a time of peace and rest and quiet, during which the hills gave to him of their strength and Nature of her benison. In the hearts of all the people was a sincere welcome which must have conveyed itself to the President's perceptions. A curious error in the July Granite Monthly brings us this letter from a long-time valued reader and friend: "In your editorial on Mr. Seward and Mr. McCollester you say: Though their religious beliefs were widely different,' etc. Is this statement correct? No doubt you have heard the facetious remark, The Universalists believe that God is too good to damn them; the Unitarians believe that they are too good to be damned.' But are their creeds widely different?" Accompanying checks for subscriptions are these heartening little notes: "With lively appreciation of the interest and excellence of the Monthly. May it prosper much! C. A. Brackett, Newport, R. I." "I not only enjoy the Granite Monthly, but as a citizen of New Hampshire feel it should be supported. John McCrillis, Newport, N. H." Now, we are waiting for some one in Newport, Vermont, to make it unanimous. Erratum: The seventh line of the poem, "The Angel of the Hidden Face," published in the July number of the Granite Monthly should read as follows: "To the far land. Men call him the sad-faced." BOOKS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE INTEREST "I begin at Nashua," writes W. L. George, the English essayist, novelist and critic, in his book about America which he calls the "random impressions of a conservative English Radical" and and which Harper and Brothers have published under the title, "Hail, Columbia!" in a handsome volume with attractive illustrations by George Wright. The possible pride of Nashuans at having the Gate City of New Hampshire chosen as the starting point for a study of the nation is dashed almost immediately, however when the writer. refers to the "painted wooden cottages of the little New Hampshire town." And what rather rubs it in is the further fact that the only other allusion to the Granite State describes "the more massive houses (such as those of Newport, New Hampshire) comfortable, boxlike boxlike edifices of brick, with a palladian magnificence of column and a cool purity of colonial style." The "remote village" where Mr. George attended an auction, saw Uncle Sam in the flesh and got acquainted with Hiram Jebbison may well have been in New Hampshire, but the author does not say that it was. Some of Mr. Wright's best pictures illustrate this first chapter on Boston and New England, of which the heading is "In Old America." Thence the author goes through the Middle West to see "America in the Making;" describes New York under the title, "Megapolis;" devotes much space and thought to "The American Woman;" paints "The American Scene," as he sees it; and fires some parting "Parthian Shots" at "the struggling ferocity, the haste, the careless collection of wealth which make up American life." Mr. George always is readable. He evidently desires to be friendly and fair. And if we are not entirely satisfied with our reflection in his mirror we still cannot deny the possibilities for improvement suggested by seeing ourselves as he sees us. Whatever criticisms one may make of the stories written by our summer resident of old New Hampshire ancestry, Eleanor Hallowell Abbott, lack of interest and novelty is not one of them. Her latest book, "Rainy Week," published by E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, brings within its covers for seven days and six chapters, A Bride and Groom, One Very Celibate Person, Someone with a Past, Someone with a Future, A Singing Voice, A May Girl and a Bore. Such a combination of "romantic passion, psychic austerity, tragedy, ambition, poignancy, innocence and irritation" is sure, as the author says, to produce drama of some kind. In this particular instance it produced an up-to-date mystery play, sufficiently hard to solve. and with the required happy ending. The story is told in Mrs. Coburn's characteristic, sprightly style and the events of its "Rainy Week" furnish good entertainment for a reader's rainy day or night. Mr. Brewer Corcoran is one of the considerable number of graduates of St. Paul's School, Concord, who have distinguished themselves as writers. His first success was with books for boys, but in "The Road to La Reve" he created a romance of charm which he has provided with a worthy successor on the same line. this year, in "The Princess Naida." The theme of a young American hero winning the love of a beautiful European princess is not absolutely new, but Mr. Corcoran has dressed it up to date with Bolshevism and other twentieth century frills. His characters are lifelike, the action sweeps along with a rush and the element of humor is not, as too often happens in this class of story, conspicuous by its absence. Readable and sincere, clean and diverting. The Page Company, Boston, are the publishers. From the same publishing house comes another romance that is good summer reading, "A Flower of Monterey," by Mrs. Katherine B. Hamill, with illustrations in color from paintings by Jessie Gillespie and Edmund H. Garrett. The scene shifts from Mr. Corcoran's Switzerland of the present to the California of Spanish mission days and the colorful atmosphere of that time and place is reproduced with fidelity and charm. The author's name is new to us, but if her book is a first one, it is worthy of mention for the craftsmanship displayed in the correct historical setting and the smooth unfolding of the story. A PSALM OF THE BIG ROCK By F. R. Rogers Here (Overlooking the Connecticut valley in the village of Haverhill, there rests an isolated boulder familiarly known as "The Big Rock." children gather to play, lads and lassies make their trysting place, and the old folks wander to dream of days gone by. In "A Psalm of the Big Rock" I have endeavored to embody some of the impressions it has made upon me.) O Lord, God, Thou art of old. In the great dawn of all the ages, Thou didst gave me birth. Thou didst form me and shape me by Thy mighty plan, fiery blast, pressure of untold masses through eons of time, the grinding of stupendous avalanches of snow and ice, all these have made me, and all to Thy great end. forests have covered the naked hills, flowers have crimsoned the desolate valleys, brooks have swollen to mighty rivers, and Thine hand wast there. Nations have risen up and disappeared. The war cry and song of the chase are silenced. Men have come, and loved, and gone, and through it all--Thee. And so through ages yet unborn Thine hand shall shape the passing to Thy glory, giving it new life, new hope, new power and after all forever, and ever, and ever, throughout eternity, Thou Shalt Be. HARRY BROOKS DAY. Harry Brooks Day was born in Newmarket, Sept. 5. 1858, the son of Warren K. and Martha (Brooks) Day, and died at his summer home in Peterborough, July 3. Moving to Concord in childhood, he graduated from the high school there in 1878 and subsequently studied music in this country, well known as an inventor, especially in connection with the Webber Grip used on aerial tramways in mountain mines. Since he retiring in 1914 had male his home with his sister, Miss Anna Louise Webber, at Charlestown, and ha indulged his passion for outdoor photography and the growing of roses, besides taking an interest in the public affairs of the town. THE LATE H. B. DAY. England and Germany. He was organist and choirmaster, in succession, at Lowell, Mass., Newton, Mass., Cambridge, Mass., and, since 1900, at Brooklyn, N. Y., for the last 12 years organist of St. Luke's church. He was a member of many musical organizations and of the Episcopal church. He was the composer of much church and other music. He married Oct. 18, 1900, Roselle M. Barker, by whom he is survived, and by a brother, Arthur K. Day, M. D., of Concord. SAMUEL S. WEBBER Samuel Storrow Webber was born in Springfield, Mass., March 31, 1854. the son of Samuel and Ellen (Oliver) Webber, and the grandson of Dr. Samuel Webber of Charlestown, where he died April 27. His profession was that of mechanical engineer, in which his longest connection was of 25 years with the Trenton, N. J., Iron Works. He was HENRY K. PORTER. Henry Kirke Porter was born in Concord, November 24, 1840, the son of George and Clara (Ayer) Porter, and died in Washington, D. C., April 10. He graduated from Brown University in 1860 and was a stu lent at the Newton, Mass., Theological Institution when he enliste in the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment in 1862. In 1866 he began business life in Pittsburg, Pa., as a manufacturer of light locomotives and was very successful. He was a Republican in politics and a member of the 58th Congress from the 31st Pennsylvania dis.rict. He was prominently identified with the Baptist religious denomination and with Y. M. C. A. work, and was a trustee of Carnegie Institute. His will distributed a large amount in philanthropic bequests. His wife and one daughter, Anne, are his survivors. JOSEPH W. PITMAN. Joseph W. Pitman, the last of three brothers prominently identified with the industrial and business interests of Laconia, died at his home there April 22. He was born in Laconia, December 16, 1853, the son of Joseph P. and Charlotte (Parker) Pitman, and succeeded his father as the head of the Pitman Manufacturing Company, a leading hosiery industry. He was a director of the Laconia National bank and a trustee of the City Savings Bank and was a member of the various Masonic bodies of the city and of the Congregational church. He is survived by his wife and five daughters. DR. M. C. SPAULDING. Melville Cox Spaulding, M. D., was born in Chelsea, Vt., May 4. 1842, the son of Rev. Russell H. and Lucinda (Leavitt) Spaulding, and died at his home in Ashland, May 14. He served in the Civil War and after its close graduated in medicine from the University of Vermont. He was in active practice for half a century, of which he spent 35 years in Ashland. He was a member of the G. A. R., the Masons and the Odd Fellows, and was distinguished for his great love of music. He is survived by a daughter, Mrs. F. E. Goodhue of Wilmot, and two sons, Roy H., of Plymouth, and Harry R., of Ashland. AUSTIN A. ELLIS. of Austin A. Ellis, elected mayor Keene in 1900, died there March 8. He was born in Sullivan, June 14, 1848, and engaged in the lumber manufacturing industry there until 1891 when he removed to Keene and began the making of brush handles. Previous to his election as mayor he served as councilman and alderman. He was a deacon of the First Congregational church and for three years president of the city Y. M. C. A. His wife, who was Miss Julia Ellen Tyler of Marlow. and one daughter, Mrs. George B. Robertson, of Keene, survive him. MESHACH H. BELL. Meshach H. Bell, for many years a member of the board of governors of the New Hampshire Soldiers' Home in Tilton, died at Portsmouth, May 12. He was born in Kittery, Me., April 11, 1844, the son of Meshach and Sarah M. Bell, and served in the Civil war in Company G, Tenth New Hampshire Volunteers. He was at one time judge advocate of the state department of the G. A. R. and was a member of the I. O. O. F., U. O. P. F. and Rebekahs. Since the war he had been engaged in business in Portsmouth. He is survived by his wine and three daughters. MAJOR DAVID URCH. Major David Urch, who died in Portsmouth, April 23, was born in Newport, Wales, April 14, 1844, and came to this country when four years of age. He was a veteran of the Civil War and since 1876 had owned the toll bridge between Portsmouth and Newcastle. He had served on the board of aldermen and in both branches of the state legislature and was prominent in the state militia, holding eight commissions, from first lieutenant to inspector general. He was a charter member of Storer Post, G. A. R., and a member of the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs. He married Ida A Rogers of Eliot, Me., who survives him. |