WINTER AS IT WAS 189 



notonous," do I hear some one say ? It was 

 monotony such as would have ended too soon 

 though it had lasted forever. If I had a 

 thousand dollars to spend in an afternoon's 

 sport now, I should not know how to get half 

 as much exhilaration out of it as two hours 

 on that snow-covered slope afforded. There 

 is something in a boy's spirits that a man's 

 money can never buy, nor a man's will bring 

 back to him. 



As years passed, we ventured farther from 

 home to a steeper and longer declivity. 

 Glorious hours we spent there, every boy 

 riding his own sled after his own fashion. 

 Boys who were boys rode " side-saddle " or 

 " belly-bump ; " but here and there a timid 

 soul, or one who considered the toes of his 

 boots, condescended to an upright position, 

 feet foremost, like a girl in the language 

 of the polite people, sur son seant. 



Later still came the day of the double- 

 runner, when we slid down-hill gregariously, 

 as it were, or, if you will, in chorus (the 

 word is justified), every boy's arms clinging 

 to the boy in front of him. Older fellows 

 now took a hand with us, and we resorted 



