In "Welcome to Mariposa," a narrator describes a town in Canada.
I don’t know whether you know Mariposa, but if not, it is of no consequence, for if you know Canada at all, you are probably well acquainted with a dozen towns just like it.
There it lies in the sunlight, sloping up from the little lake that spreads out at the foot of the hillside on which the town is built. There is a wharf beside the lake, and lying alongside of it a steamer that is tied to the wharf. The steamer goes nowhere in particular, for the lake is landlocked and there is no navigation for the Mariposa Belle except to “run trips” on special occasions.
In point of geography, the lake is called Lake Wissanotti, the river running out of it is the Ossawippi, the main street of Mariposa is called Missinaba Street, and the county Missinaba County. But these names do not really matter. Nobody uses them. People simply speak of the “lake” and the “river” and the “main street,” much in the same way as they always call the Continental Hotel, “Pete Robinson’s” and the Pharmaceutical Hall, “Eliot’s Pharmacy.” But I suppose this is just the same in everyone else’s town as in mine, so I need lay no stress on it.
The town, I say, has one broad street that runs up from the lake, commonly called Main Street. There is no doubt about its width. When Mariposa was laid out there was none of that shortsightedness which is seen in the cramped dimensions of Wall Street and Piccadilly.1 Up and down the Main Street are telegraph poles standing at a variety of angles and carrying rather more wires than are commonly seen at a transatlantic cable station.
On Main Street itself are a number of buildings of extraordinary importance — Smith’s Hotel and Pete Robinson’s and the Mariposa House, and the two banks (the Commercial and the Exchange), to say nothing of McCarthy’s Block (erected in 1878), and Glover’s Hardware Store. Then, on the “cross” street that intersects Missinaba Street at the main corner, there is the Post Office and the Fire Hall and the office of the Mariposa Newspacket — in fact, to the eye of discernment a perfect jostle of public institutions comparable only to the busy streets of New York City and London. On all the side streets there are maple trees and broad sidewalks, trim gardens with upright calla lilies, and houses with verandahs.
To the careless eye, the scene on Main Street of a summer afternoon is one of deep and unbroken peace. The empty street sleeps in the sunshine. There is a horse and buggy tied to the hitching post in front of Glover’s hardware store. There is, usually and commonly, the burly figure of Mr. Smith, proprietor of Smith’s Hotel, standing in his chequered waistcoat on the steps of his hostelry, and perhaps, further up the street, Lawyer Macartney going for his afternoon mail.
But this quiet is mere appearance. In reality, and to those who know it, the place is a perfect hive of activity. Why, at Netley’s butcher shop (established in 1882) there are no less than four people working on the sausage machines in the basement; at the Newspacket office there are as many more job-printing; there is a long distance telephone with four people on high stools talking incessantly; in the offices in McCarthy’s block are dentists and lawyers, ready to work at any moment; and from the big planing factory down beside the lake where the railroad siding is, you may hear all through the hours of the summer afternoon the long-drawn music of the running saw.
Busy — well, I should think so! Ask any of its inhabitants if Mariposa isn’t a busy, hustling, thriving town. Ask Mullins, the manager of the Exchange Bank, who comes hustling over to his office from the Mariposa House every day at 10.30 and has scarcely time all morning to go out and take a drink with the manager of the Commercial; or ask — well, for the matter of that, ask any of them if they ever knew a more rushing go-a-head town than Mariposa.
Of course if you come to the place fresh from New York City, you are deceived. Your standard of vision is all astray; you do think the place is quiet. You do imagine that Mr. Smith is asleep merely because he closes his eyes as he stands. But live in Mariposa for six months or a year and then you will begin to understand it better; the buildings get higher and higher; the Mariposa House grows larger and more opulent; McCarthy’s block towers to the sky; the buses roar and hum to the station; the trains shriek; the traffic multiplies; the people move faster and faster; a dense crowd swirls to and fro in the post-office and the five and ten cent store — and amusements! Well, now! Lacrosse, baseball, excursions, dances, the Fireman’s Ball every winter and the town picnic every summer; and music — the town band in the park every Wednesday evening, and the brass band on the street every other Friday; the Mariposa Quartette — why, after a few months’ residence you begin to realize that the place is a mere mad round of gaiety.
Text: "Welcome to Mariposa" by Stephen Leacock (1912) is in the public domain. This text has been modified.
Image: "Untitled" by Tungsten Rising is licensed under CC0.
Notes:
“Wall Street” refers to the crowded financial district in New York City and “Picadilly” refers to a popular street in London.
Assessment Questions
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35
6 out of 35 Answered
Question 7
Which TWO quotations best support the idea that Mariposa is a lively city?
A. "On Main Street itself are a number of buildings of extraordinary importance — Smith's Hotel and Pete Robinson's and the Mariposa House" (Paragraph 5)
B. "On all the side streets there are maple trees and broad sidewalks, trim gardens with upright calla lilies, and houses with verandahs." (Paragraph 5)
C. "To the careless eye, the scene on Main Street of a summer afternoon is one of deep and unbroken peace." (Paragraph 6)
D. "There is, usually and commonly, the burly figure of Mr. Smith, proprietor of Smith's Hotel, standing in his chequered waistcoat on the steps of his hostelry" (Paragraph 6)
E. "But this quiet is mere appearance. In reality, and to those who know it, the place is a perfect hive of activity." (Paragraph 7)
F. "the buses roar and hum to the station; the trains shriek; the traffic multiplies; the people move faster and faster" (Paragraph 9)
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1 answer
The two quotations that best support the idea that Mariposa is a lively city are:
E. "But this quiet is mere appearance. In reality, and to those who know it, the place is a perfect hive of activity." (Paragraph 7)
F. "the buses roar and hum to the station; the trains shriek; the traffic multiplies; the people move faster and faster" (Paragraph 9)
These quotes highlight the juxtaposition between the seemingly peaceful exterior of the town and the underlying vibrancy and activity that characterize Mariposa.
