104 FOBE8T BOUNDS. 



How beautifully the sun went down behind the hills, 

 lighting up the western sky, and the fleecy clouds floating in 

 the heavens with a blaze of glory, throwing a mantle of 

 silver over the tall ranges and mountain peaks that loomed 

 up in solemn grandeur away in the east ; and how stilly, 

 silently the stars came out from the depths above, and how 

 brightly and truthfully they were given back from away 

 down in depths beneath the placid waters. We had taken 

 half a dozen beautiful trout from the foot of the falls where 

 the current shoots out into the lake. We had eaten them 

 too, and were sitting in front of our tents smoking our 

 evening pipes. 



" Spalding," said the Doctor, " how I wish our little boys 

 were out here with us. How they would enjoy themselves 

 among these lakes and rivers. It is a hard lot that the 

 children of our cities have in life. They struggle up to man 

 and womanhood against fearful odds, and the wonder is, 

 that they do not perish in their infancy ; that they are not 

 blasted, as the blossoms are, when the cold east wind sweeps 

 over the earth." 



" You are right, my friend," replied Spalding. " I should 

 like to have our little boys, and girls too, for that matter, 

 with us for a few days out here on these lakes. It would 

 be a lifetime to them, measuring time by the enjoyment it 

 would afford them. Still their city habits might make them 

 tire of this freedom in a week. You and I enjoy it longer, 

 because it brings back old memories and relieves us from 

 the toils of business and the restraints of conventional life. 



