310 CONCLUSION. 



had to draw, and of the beauty of the country through 

 which he had to take them, ran whistling along his way 

 as if his heart was filled with gladness and joy, now 

 winding around the point of a rocky hill, now running 

 with redoubled speed down a long incline, but always 

 bringing, at every moment, new scenes of fertility and 

 beauty into view smiling valleys, pretty towns, and for- 

 est-covered hills. 



John was much interested, as they went on, in observing 

 all the streams flowing through the valleys which they 

 could overlook from the windows of the car, and he saw 

 many examples of such streams pursuing a very meander- 

 ing course through level meadow-lands, which had every 

 appearance of having been formed by the filling up of an- 

 cient lakes or ponds. The case in which this effect was 

 manifested on the grandest scale was that of the windings 

 of the Connecticut River at the foot of Mount Holyoke. 

 The travelers stopped over one train expressly to obtain 

 a good view of this valley, which object they attained by 

 going partly up Mount Holyoke. They did not have time 

 to go to the top. 



When at length they took their places in the train again 

 to resume their journey, John amused himself with reading 

 for a time, and then finally shut his book and said he was 

 very tired. 



" I suppose you did not sleep very well last night on 

 board the steam-boat," said Lawrence ; " and, besides, we 

 have had a somewhat fatiguing time of it to-day." 



So Lawrence proposed that John should place himself in 

 a comfortable position and see if he could not go to sleep. 

 John said he was sure he could not go to sleep, for he was 

 not sleepy. 



" You can put yourself in a comfortable position, at any 

 rate," said Lawrence," and then I will tell you a story." 



