186 HAPPY HUNTING-GEOUNDS 



sure-footed "best" upon which my wife was mounted 

 made nothing of it ; so I left the cart and we continued 

 our journey for another two hours mostly over a 

 moorland bounded by beautiful snow-tipped peaks, 

 but often passing stretches of undulating pasture-land, 

 with great green glades intersected by coppices and 

 shrubs that might well have formed part of an English 

 park, of which they much reminded me. All over them, 

 among the thick green grass, clustered the leaves of 

 the lilies of the valley, giving some idea of what the 

 prospect must have been when these lovely flowers 

 were blooming in their rich profusion. 



At last we reached the margin of a beautiful lake, 

 some four miles in circumference, where we were 

 met by our host and hostess, and rowed home in a 

 two-prowed boat, the ladies being towed behind in 

 a Canadian canoe plentifully provided with cushions. 

 At first I looked in vain for the house, which I had 

 expected to find on the bank, but soon we passed 

 through a narrow channel artificially widened, which 

 my host called the Suez Canal. This miniature channel 

 is like its great original, partly natural and partly 

 artificial. Passing through the reeds we emerged 

 into a second lake, at the far corner of which we 

 perceived the house and boat-house within a few 

 yards of the shore. 



The little log-house accommodated quite a large 

 party ; everything had been done to economise space, 

 and the rooms were small but very comfortable. The 

 trout caught in the lake were kept alive in a stew just 

 opposite to the drawing-room window, and taken out 

 when wanted for the table, and the supply seldom fell 

 short. I tried for them the next morning, which was 



