HOW IT HAPPENED 



dig, for water indeed was here, in alluring expanse spread out 

 before us. What was there about that particular little lake which 

 so captivated us ? Why was it that after looking at and admiring 

 the innumerable small lakes with which our woodland State is 

 dotted, we always returned to this one with a sigh of content ? 



It was a friendly bit of water, with friendly fish in its cool depths 

 only waiting to be caught, black bass and perch and pickerel; 

 a lake just big enough to temper the hot prairie winds of mid- 

 summer and to reflect its thunder-caps and brilliant sunsets, a 

 long lake with deeply dented shores that sloped into its shining 

 waters so that every pretty point had the coolest breezes and the 

 most extended view ! But where was its peculiar charm ? To be 

 sure it had the feminine quality of changefulness : it was never twice 

 alike. Did our imagination, even then, leap to its cool touch on 

 August mornings and show us its mirror-like reflections on still 

 September dawns? Did its refreshing breezes tell us of the won- 

 drous moonlit nights before us ? those nights, yes, they must have 

 held the secret, the last exquisite touch. Surely nowhere else 

 did the shimmering water dance under the golden rays in so glad- 

 some ;i fashion. Floating over its glassy surface, down those paths 

 of light, suspended between earth and sky, a sweet voice making 

 melody and all one's senses lulled to rest, could happiness go 

 further ? 



Let us make haste, then, to build us this home in the woodland, 

 a small and simple abode where the birds may nest close to our 



