MORNING IN THE FOREST. 41 



is it? There's a good deal more than that word conveys in 

 such a morning- and such a scene as this. Oh, I remember"— 

 and the eyes of my good friend, who usually concealed the 

 really earnest and noble side of his nature under a veil of 

 humor, were dreamy and his voice low and musical as he 

 spoke, "—I remember the first summer morning I saw in 

 tlie wilderness, a dozen years ago. It.came like a revelation 

 of what— yes,— of what heaven might be, if it should be 

 l^rought down to the earth." I suppose every man has a 

 little poetry hid away in him, somewhere. That morning 

 was the key that unlocked mine. The forest seemed a vast 

 temple,-the worshipers all reverently silent; and the sun 

 for the lirst time, as it slowly rose and seemed to gaze be- 

 nignantly on lake and forest, became Father of the day 

 and not its King. -Ah, my boy," after a moment's silence, 

 "that seems a good while ago, though, and I've had some 

 hard knocks in the world's rough and tumble since then,- 

 but this sunrise sends me all the way back, over the years, 

 to just such a scene as this and to just such a delight as 

 you now experience in seeing a forest sun rise for the first 

 time." 



"Well!" called out the Captain, who was^ already 

 busy about camp, /^^.S6^^V^^, as Johnson styled -his work,— 

 "Well! if it takes you fellows much longer to determine 

 whether that's the break-o':lay or not, you won't very soon 

 have break-o'fast!" at which desperate attempt at a joke 

 nobody smiled but himself. "We've got to have some 

 trout for breakfast, "continued he, "and I shall order out 

 another detail, if Benson and the Professor don't proceed 

 at once." 



