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HON. JOHN A. DECKER OF WELD.

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N the :?:rowth of inland cities, he bas played impOl'tant part; RumfOl'd Falls and Millinocket,-was bebind them from the start:1<'01' be early saw a future, for tbe wheels of industry. Where the waters idly tumbled o'er the iJalTiers to the sea; And now mills for pulp and paPel' with their smoking chimneys tall ~Iark the place where all was silence, save the roaring water-fall. A man of strong convictions, he much rather tight than run, As you'll learn, on all occasions, when there's fi~:hting to be done; And one instance I'm recalllng, .iust to mal;;:e my meaning plain, Was when Declcer joined with Rickel'-to "Save the Lakes of l\'Iaine," To this task he lent his service, with an enerp;y and zeal, That dill wondel's for a movement, that hespoke the commonn'eaI. He has lands along the lal.:eslde--but no catalog will doFor the best of all his holdi~ are his friendships, strong and tI'ue-They outclass blocks in Millinocket or aU that title gives; For tbey bespeak the friend and neighbor, in the sphit that he lives.

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