ON THE ROAD. 87 



one on the part of the " little fellow j " and the pure 

 fresh air soon roused us to song and shout, and we 

 behaved very much like a party of school-children, 

 who were soon to resume their desks and studies ; 

 and very likely we felt like them, for well we knew 

 that all too soon were we to put off our country 

 manners and customs, and don our city ways. 



The madam thought the elderberry-wine, which 

 we surreptitiously obtained at a wayside "agency," 

 had something to do with raising our spirits ; feel- 

 ing she might possibly be correct, we lowered the 

 spirits accordingly, which reminds me, memo., never 

 say " elderberry " to Charlie again. 



In due time we arrived at Bryant's Pond to find 

 nearly half of the male inhabitants of the village 

 bear-hunting ; for under cover of the night, and 

 having not the fear of the selectmen before his 

 eyes, one of these audacious fellows had descended 

 from his mountain fastness to the plains below, 

 and taken from under their very noses a goodly 

 quantity of fine spring lamb ; and now with many 

 a weapon, from the old queen's-arm which gran'ther 

 used in the Revolution, to the last breech-loader in 

 the hands of the great-grandson just arrived from 

 town, they had gone in search of his bearship. 



I had almost a mind to say that the old chap 

 knew something was bruin ; but it's cheap, I pause, 



