14000 MILES 



ordered our horse, and while waiting walked to the 

 station to have a few last words with our friends who 

 were going by rail and boat. 



Directly we leave Weirs we go up a long hill, and are 

 rewarded by a very fine view of the lake and surrounding 

 mountains. We drove into a pasture to gain the highest 

 point, saw all there was to be seen, then down the famil- 

 iar road to Lake Village and Laconia. At a point where 

 the road divided, two bright girls were reclining in the 

 shade, and we asked them the way to Tilton ; one 

 answered, "The right, I think," and in the same breath 

 said, "We don't know. Are you from Smith's? We are 



staying at 's, but we thought you might be staying at 



Smith's, and we want to know if that is any nicer than 

 our place." Their bright faces interested us, and we 

 encouraged their acquaintance by telling them we were 

 not staying anywhere, but traveling through the country. 

 This was sufficient to fully arouse their curiosity, and a 

 flood of questions and exclamations were showered upon 

 us. "Just you two? Oh, how nice! That's just what I 

 like about you New England ladies ; now, we could not 

 do that in Washington. Do you drive more than ten 

 miles a day? Is it expensive? Where do you stay 

 nights? Do you sketch? Why don't you give an illus- 

 trated account of your journey for some magazine? Oh! 

 how I wish I could sketch you just as you are, so I could 

 show you to our friends when we go back to Washing- 

 ton !" and so on until we bade them good morning. 



We crossed a very long bridge, and afterwards learned 

 that it was to be closed the next day and taken down, 

 being unsafe. We found a man at a little village store 



68 



