BIRCH BROWSINGS. 185 



who had carried a knapsack in the Union armies, to 

 pilot us a couple of miles into the woods so as to 

 guard against any mistakes at the outset. It seemed 

 the easiest thing in the world to find the lake. The 

 lay of the land was so simple, according to accounts, 

 that I felt sure I could go to it in the dark. " Go up 

 this little brook to its source on the side of the mount- 

 ain," they said. " The valley that contains the lake 

 heads directly on the other side." What could be 

 easier ! But on a little further inquiry, they said we 

 should " bear well to the left " when we reached the 

 top of the mountain. This opened the doors again ; 

 u bearing well to the left " was an uncertain perform- 

 ance in strange woods. We might bear so well to 

 the left that it would bring us ill. But why bear to 

 the left at all, if the lake was directly opposite ? 

 Well, not quite opposite ; a little to the left. There 

 were two or three other valleys that headed in near 

 there. We could easily find the right one. But to 

 make assurance doubly sure, we engaged a guide, as 

 stated, to give us a good start, and go with us beyond 

 the bearing-to-the-left point. He had been to the 

 lake the winter before and knew the way. Our 

 course, the first half-hour, was along an obscure 

 wood-road which had been used for drawing ash logs 

 off the mountain in winter. There was some hem- 

 ,Dck, but more maple and birch. The woods were 

 iense and free from underbrush, the ascent gradual. 

 Most of the way we kept the voice of the creek in 

 our ear on the right. I approached it once, and 



