A Seasonable Divagation 135 



The summer splendour and enchantment is at 

 its fill of perfection. The hayfield fragrance is 

 subtly interwoven with the currents of air, and 

 the sun draws forth as well the balsamic odours of 

 the pines and hemlocks and spruces. He who 

 dwells in a mountain region where such trees grow 

 is more richly furnished with the breath of health 

 than any other. The yellow pines that abound 

 on the plain are a great constituent of our health, 

 and so fast as they are destroyed by the invasion 

 of the houses, the atmosphere deteriorates. They 

 cannot combat the soft coal smoke which hangs 

 over all the valley. But this is the way of the 

 world ; the opportunity of money-getting fouls 

 all the air of the valleys, and to the hills or the 

 shore one must fly to escape this pollution. 

 Faugh ! Let us get out of it for a moment and 

 make for the mountains &quot; whence cometh my 

 help,&quot; said David the psalmist. 



There is nothing more wonderful for us than 

 the hill country westward, where as yet only 

 farmers live and where still a few villages with 

 their home industries exist, if they do not flourish. 

 If things were healthy, these industries should be 

 prosperous, and the whole country round about 

 would be happier, as it was a generation ago. 

 It was a most attractive sight, one of the little 

 old-time villages, set in a valley still high in the 



