1) oot Ge ae Sf tp eee a ee ee) eS ee Se 
re 
. life.’’ 
‘books that just see the light, such as_ the 
NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
MANCHESTER, MASS., SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1908. 
RANDOM THOUGHTS. 
BY D. F. LAMSON. 
No. XXVI. 
The people of Manchester have be- 
fore them this summer in the antique 
little building on the village green, and 
the work which it represents, a fine ex- 
ample of the noblesse oblige; the town may 
perhaps think that it gives in some sort 
an equavalent for additions to its  valu- 
ation and tax lists, but such kindly deeds 
on the part of summer residents as_ here 
has concrete illustration, touch a deep 
chord of gratitude and promote a high 
regard for the thoughtful generosity that 
thus finds expression. 
In the hot, still days of summer, 
we sometimes think that we could dis- 
pense with a few degrees of ca- 
loric;~ but all varieties of temperature 
have their place in the economy of na- 
ture; and if we could see all the adjust- 
ments and harmonies and interworkings 
that go to make up the great Plan, we 
should be amazed at their intricacy and 
necessity. 
As we are often reminded, it is not 
what we receive, but what we give, that 
~most enriches us; if I can be of the least 
comfort or help to one in need, if | can 
give a cup of cold water to a thirsty soul, 
it will do me more good than a draught 
of champagne. 
There is very little real improvisation ; 
what is often thought so may be the fruit 
of much thinking; the extempore is often 
that which is out of the whole time, the 
product of a life experience; of the glib 
performances of some fluent speakers 
who boast that they can do it and think 
nothing of it, their hearers might reply, 
*“and we think nothing of it too.’’ 
Books that in Milton’s phrase are 
the ‘‘ life-blood of a master spirit’’ have 
a permanent place in the world’s liter- 
ature. Shakespeare, Bacon, Herbert, 
Fuller, Taylor, Bunyan, Addison, *John- 
son, Webster, Emerson, and how many 
ce . e 
more, are. destined to a life beyond 
But what shall be said of the 
great mass of “‘ summer reading, ’’ and 
disappear like the ephemera that is born 
inthe morning and dies before night, 
but that their life is of no worth to the 
world; they can be dispensed with as 
well as not. 
We sometimes hear it said of a_per- 
son that he has completed his education ; 
Continued on next page 
THe Nortu SHorRE Gritt, Ar MAGNOLIA. 
Center of Fashion on the North Shore, and Mecca for Automobile and Driving Parties. 
THE MID-SUMMER BALL. 
Brilliant Affair at Oceanside Hotel 
Last Saturday. 
The July, or mid-summer ball, held 
Saturday evening at the Oceanside is now 
a thing of the past, but its memory will 
remain as one of the most successful and 
enjoyable of its kind. “The custom of 
previous years was departed from in sev- 
eral instances. Most noticable among 
them was the substitution of the Salem 
Cadet Band in place of the house or- 
chestra, and the absence of decorations. 
In former seasons the main dining hall 
had been elaborately decorated with flags 
and bunting. “The improvement was 
marked and commented upon more or 
less by those who in the past have at- 
tended the mid-summer balls. “The 
plain severity and simplicity of the hall 
formed an_ excellent back ground for 
the brilliant gowns of the women 
and was relieved from absolute bareness 
by artistically arranged ferns and palms 
at the lower end of the hall. 
A very pretty feature of the evening 
was the dancing of the little “ones at the 
beginning of the ball and many smiles 
were sent in their direction. “Tosee the 
children dancing sedately and taking it as 
much as a matter of course as the older 
ones was, indeed, a charming sight. 
Every ball must have its belle and it 
was generally conceded that the honor 
lay with Miss Faithful Ames, who ap- 
peared late in the evening and was at 
once in demand. Miss Gertrude ‘Vow- 
er, however, was also very popular and 
opinion was at first somewhat divided 
although the majority favored Miss 
Ames, 
season, society from all parts of the 
country and even foreign countries was 
represented. Despite the rain, many of 
the cottagers attended, among them _ be- 
ing C. H. Bull of Quincy, Ill, and his 
eranddaughter, Miss Evelyn McFadden; 
Dr. and Mrs. Percy Musgrave, of Bos- 
ton; William Ruhl, of Brookline, and 
Mr. and Mrs. Frank S. Chick. 
Among the many hotel guests present 
the most prominent were: Gen. and 
Mrs. G. T. Andrews and their daugh- 
ters of Washington; Miss Armsby of 
Chicago; Mrs. J. D. Cox, Miss Jean- 
ette Cox, and J. D. Cox, jr., of Cleve- 
land, Ohio; Mrs. William Scudder and 
the Misses Scudder from St. Louis; J. 
W. Gummey of Boston, and Miss Mar- 
garet Gummey; Wooster Lambert of 
St. Louis; the Auchinclosses from New 
York; Miss Alice ‘Tapley of Boston; 
Mrs. T. DeWitt Talmage of New 
York; Miss Eleanor Bradley of Brook- 
line; George H. Robinson of Cam- 
bridge; Reginald Kennard of Boston; 
Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Lord, Miss Lord, 
Russell Lord of Chicago; Mrs. A. J. 
Tower and the Misses Tower; Miss 
Grace E. O’Brien of Roxbury; Mr. 
and Mrs. Charles A. Potter and C. A. 
Potter, jr., of Chestnut Hill, Pa.; Miss 
M. A. Patterson, Boston; and Rear 
Admiral and Mrs. J. E. Pillsbury of 
Washington. 
Charles Steck, a well known Boston 
man, and who in previous years has been 
a prominent guest at the Oceanside, 
came down from Boston in his hand- 
some French touring car, Tuesday, and 
dined at the Grill. 
