FIVE DAYS ON MOUNT MANSFIELD. 109 



shores of time, and finding many a precious 

 rarity ; and should he ever read this refer- 

 ence to himself, may it be with a feeling 

 as kindly as that with which the lines are 

 written. 



That afternoon I followed him, somewhat 

 unexpectedly. I went down, as I had come 

 up, on wheels; but I will not say in igno- 

 ble fashion, for the driver the hotel pro- 

 prietor himself was in haste, the carriage 

 had no brake, and the speed with which we 

 rattled down the steep pitches and round 

 the sharp curves, with the certainty that 

 if anything should break, the horse would 

 run and our days would be ended, these 

 things, and especially the latter considera- 

 tion, of which I thought and the other man 

 spoke, made the descent one of pleasurable 

 excitement. We reached the base in safety 

 and I was left at the nearest farmhouse, 

 where by dint of some persuasion the house- 

 wife was induced to give me a lodging for 

 the night, so that on the morrow I might 

 make a long day in Smugglers' Notch, a 

 famous botanical resort between Mount 

 Mansfield and Mount Sterling, which I had 

 for years been desirous of visiting. 



