PREFACE. 5 



been written of it, far more remains well worthy of 

 recording. Or, looking northward, one traces from the 

 distant mountains trending toward the sea the more 

 pretentious valley of the river. Here I have found a 

 new country, teeming with delights. Its wreck-strewed 

 shores, its sandy beaches which the tide lays bare, its 

 wild and wasting islands and open reaches of wind- 

 troubled waters, have alike held me as the days rolled 

 by. And so it happens that, after many a ramble in 

 far-off regions, where rocks, lakes, rivers, and boundless 

 pine barrens offered endless novelty, it was ever a pleas- 

 ure to return to the unpretending creek and modest 

 river, and spend my days with " old familiar faces." 

 Perhaps, 



" Because I was content with these poor fields, 

 Low, open meads, slender and sluggish streams, 

 And found a home in haunts which others scorned, 

 The partial wood-gods overpaid my love 

 And granted me the freedom of their state " ; 



the world seemed more full of meaning here. There- 

 fore I hold that one need not mope because he has to 

 stay at home. Trees grow here as suggestively as in 

 California ; and the water of our river is very wet. Re- 

 member, too, if trees are not tall enough to suit your 

 whim, to lie down beneath the branches of any one of 

 them, and, as you look up, the topmost twig pierces the 

 sky. There is not an oak but will become a giant 

 sequoia in this way. 



One need learn no magic to bring the antipodes 

 home to him. 



