1894
Good morning! This is P. Marden pinchhitting for C. C. Merrill, who is so busy uniting the various wings of the Protestant church that he has to have help with the class business. So hasten the day when all Christians can truthfully sing, "We are not divided, all one body we!"
C.C. has wished on me a large wad of MS. to digest for this column. Among the news items is a note from Calvin P. Bartlett, our "Sunapee's" son, expressing his thanks for the sympathy of us all and the flowers sent to the funeral of his father, at which '94 was represented by C. C. Merrill and Dwight Hall.
Another letter announces the death of EdHodsdon's widow in April.
Still another item is some correspondence, of a triangular variety, involving Ben Welton,Bud Lyon and the secretary, correcting the misstatement that Ben is now an octogenarian. Apparently Ben is of the 1873 vintage and hotly denies that he has as yet attained four- score. As in all such cases, Ben's testimony is hear-say only, official documents having perished in a fire; but there is good reason for believing the statements of his mother as to the day and year of his birth.
The main portion of the material turned over to me is a series of letters from Ben Welton to his wife, written from Tahiti, where Ben spent the winter of '5i-'52- 11 would be pleasant to reproduce them here, in full, but space will not permit. Moreover, publication in extenso would only create in us all a desire to follow in Ben's footsteps, which we could not fulfill, to that land where it is always afternoon, where the flora, fauna and females are notoriously photogenic, and where it is commonly believed fashions have changed very little since the days of our Mother Eve.
It is difficult to quote from, or to summarize, these letters, without exceeding the available space. Ben will have to show us the pictures next time we meet-for of course he took lots of them and they must be wonderful, as always.
Just reading the letters has awakened in me a wanderlust. I read of Tahitian meals, which make the mouth water; of bedrooms 18' by 21'; of rainy seasons which flood the rivers, sweep away bridges, cause landslides, and lead to hair-raising rides in a jeep; of huge fish five feet long; of curious shell-fish, which, when prepared for the table by capable Tahitian hostesses, would be worthy to furnish sustenance for the gods of high Olympus; of Christmas and New Year celebrations lasting from three to five days, but for the most part well behaved. The authors, Hall and Nord-hoff, went to Tahiti and adopted the local way of life in order to get local color for Mutiny on the Bounty and Pitcairn Island; but Ben went there to add to his growing experiences with tropical scenes, which entitled him to aspire to rival such eminent lecturers as Stoddard, Newman and Burton Holmes. He has a gift for alluring description, so that, as I read, I can taste the papaya, the mango, the waroo, and sniff the night-blooming jasmine. Oh, to be foot-loose and fancy free, and have the price!
Sorry I cannot include excerpts here, or description of strolling Tahitian singers who give songs in both Tahitian and English to the accompaniment of a guitar. Maybe when we come back for our 60th, and when Ben will be an unquestioned 81, he will have even more samples to show.
Secretary, REV. 74 Kirkland St., Cambridge 38, Mass. Treasurer, 60 Maple St., Somersworth, N. H. Class Agent, 141-48 33rd Ave., Flushing, L. I. 54, N. Y.
