XXXI. 



Moonlight on the "Water. — A Village wiped out. — The Au Sa- 

 ble. — Keeseville. — The Gorge. — An Ore Pit. 



This was one of tlie most beautiful evenings that I 

 had seen since I entered the woods. The moon was 

 at full, and its brightness was upon everything around 

 us. Mountain and forest and the still lake were all 

 shining in its beams, and the little bays, hidden with- 

 in the shadows of the tall trees, had just enough of 

 obscure and spectral twilight about them to give them 

 a superstitious and solemn charm. While my guide 

 slept I seated myself in our little craft and drifted out 

 into the water, for it was too pleasant for sleep. 



Nothing can be more delightful than to float on 

 one of these beautiful lakes in a calm, warm night. 

 There is nothing but sweetness in the air, nothing but 

 pleasant sounds falling upon the ear. The loon lifts 

 up his clarion voice, waking the echoes of the moun- 



