A NOOK IN THE ALLEGHANIES 185 



into one. Altogether, the effect was most 

 singular. I had never heard anything in 

 the least resembling it, familiar as I had 

 thought myself for some years with the nor- 

 mal four-syllabled song of Icarus caroluien- 

 sis. For the moment I was half disposed 

 to be angry, — so much excitement, and so 

 absurd an outcome ; but on the whole it is 

 very good fun to be fooled in this way by a 

 bird who happens to have invented a tune 

 of his own. Besides, we are all believers in 

 originality, — are we not ? — whatever our 

 own practice. 



Human travelers were infrequent enough 

 to be little more than a welcome diversion : 

 two young men on horseback ; a solitary 

 foot-passenger, who kindly pointed out a 

 trail by which a long elbow in the road 

 could be saved on the descent ; and, near 

 the top of the mountain, a four-horse cart, 

 the driver of which was riding one of the 

 wheel-horses. At the summit I chose a seat 

 (not the first one of the jaunt, by any means) 

 and surveyed the valley beyond. It lay 

 directly at my feet, the mountain dropping 

 to it almost at a bound, and the stunted 

 budding trees offered the least possible ob- 



