of such a general and prolonged blight? Probably in time the evil will mercifully be removed, for it scarcely belongs to the nature of vegetable productions to perish entirely and become extinct like tribes of animals.
About a couple of miles from the village there is a very pretty pool in a field near the road, covering, perhaps, an acre or more of ground; marvellous tales were formerly told of its depth, and for a long time people tried to believe it unfathomable; but unfortunately, actual measurement has destroyed the illusion, and it is found to be only five or six feet in depth! All agree, however, that it has become much more shallow since the country has been opened and the woods cut away:
| “ | Before these fields were shorn and tilled, |
| Full to the brim our rivers flowed; | |
| The melody of waters filled | |
| The fresh and boundless wood. | |
| And torrents dashed, and rivulets played, | |
| And fountains spouted in the shade.” |
But now, as the old Indian sings, these things are changed:
| “ | The springs are silent in the sun, |
| The rivers by the blackened shore | |
| With lessening current run.” |
This little lake, Pappoose Pool, as it is called, looks very prettily as one comes and goes along the highway, with its border of evergreens of various kinds sweeping half round it, and making a fine background to the water, which they color with their dark branches.
Presently, after passing this little pool, one comes to a factory on the bank of a pretty stream of some size, which received its
