Song Birds and Water Fowl 
This is not a disparagement of country life, but 
one of its chief commendations. For, to se- 
cure the healthy equipoise of human existence, 
this lower vegetative element of our nature 
cannot be ignored. Nothing is better for the 
soul than periodically to go where, for awhile, 
one can be ‘‘of the earth, earthy;’’ and Lake 
George can be commended as a delightful and 
economical spot in which to make the experi- 
ment. 
But the foregoing is only the lower, earth- 
ward side of rustication in such a region as this. 
On the borders of this ever-changeful lake, that 
gives a quick and fleeting transcript of all the 
varying moods of earth and sky, and in this 
noble amphitheatre of everlasting hills, whose 
loftiness, solidity, and dignified repose are an 
unobtrusive, and yet grave, rebuke to all the 
transient, petty, fretful views and aims of the 
immortal beings crawling at their base; with 
numerous running brooks along the mountain 
sides, breaking, but not marring, the country 
silence, congenial substitutes for books, the 
pleasantest sort of summer reading—in such 
surroundings one may find ample diet for imag- 
ination, and the choicest wine of inspiration, 
to promote the growth of his higher powers, 
210 
