since time began until now, will be floating down the St. Lawrence and the Hudson, or whirled at the tail of the locomotive to the seaside. The most zealous utilitarian might sadden over the coming change, were it not that a century must go by before the industry of man, though that man be a Yankee, can strip the rocky heights of their ever-green luxuriance.
Following from the Mohawk side, and after crossing the hill which bounds that valley, the bank of the noble Sacondaga (beau-ideal of a trout river to an angler who is content to wade deeply for a free cast under the elms on pool or rapid) to the neat little inn of Francisco, and then crossing a spur of the mountain-range by a road rough as the bed of a torrent, the traveller will find himself gazing on the placid waters and rich shores of Lake Pleasant, named by no flattering tongue, for a more lovely scene has seldom greeted the eye of poet or artist; and, yet farther on, connected with it by a short strait, Round Lake sparkles like a bowl of silver wreathed with verdant garland. Here several dwellings, with one or two flourishing farms, are clustered about the county buildings, and a well-kept hotel opens its doors in welcome to a table spread with luxuries unknown among the dwellers on the plain. At the time when the incidents happened of which I am about to write, the explorer, if not accustomed to woodcraft, or bent upon adventure, tempted the difficulties of the way no farther; nor was he indisposed to linger, where, with comfort at night and plenty by day, he could win rich trophies for both rod and gun, or enjoy the beauty around him varying with dawn and evening, sunlight and cloud. But perseverance for two or three hours would bring him to another lake, the Piseco, far more lovely, at least in the judgment of one rendered perhaps partial by memories of happy days of many an early summer spent in contemplating its virgin charms, traversing its pure bosom and enjoying the society of a half-dozen kindred spirits, far from the dust of cities, the turmoil of trade, and the frivolities of artificial life.
In this country, especially, the extreme heats that alternate with our cold winters, and, still more, the suicidal intensity with which the American follows his calling, render some relief necessary to mind, body, and heart; nor can any of us who live in towns pass from the
