14000 ^IILES 



Rochester we looked for the hotel, with beautiful 

 hanging baskets all around the piazza, where we spent 

 a night two years ago on our homeward drive from the 

 mountains. Just after supper at Dover we heard a great 

 chorus of bells, whistles and puffing engines. There was 

 a fire just across the street, and we watched the devour- 

 ing flames and the feather beds and bundles as they were 

 thrown from the second story window into the drenched 

 street, until the excitement was over, then went out for 

 a walk. That night we packed up a little more than 

 usual and planned what to do in case of fire, for our bag- 

 gage is necessarily so limited on these journeys we should 

 miss even the smallest article. Our precaution insured us 

 sweet sleep and we took an early leave of Dover 

 for Exeter, where we rested two hours, then started for 

 Epping. Suddenly we changed our minds, faced about 

 and went to Kingston. We had never been in Kingston. 

 If we had, we never should have faced that way again ; 

 for the best hotel was the poorest we had yet found, and 

 the drive to Haverhill the next day very uninteresting. 

 We fully appreciated the dry retort of a chatty old man, 

 who gave us some directions, then asked where we came 

 from that morning — "Kingston Plains! Good Lord!" 



The drive from Haverhill to Andover was quite 

 pleasant. We arrived there at three o'clock in the after- 

 noon, and although we had driven but twenty miles, at 

 once decided to go no farther that day. The heat was 

 still oppressive, and no rain had fallen since we left home, 

 except the shower at the Isles of Shoals. We made 

 ourselves as comfortable as possible with books and 

 lemonade. "Another pleasant day!" we said with a sigh, 



44 



