34 Travels in a Tree-top 



day; Nature was couchant, and I was thankful. 

 When the tempest drives over the land I want 

 my snug harbor by the chimney-throat. The 

 sparks can fly upward to join the storm if they 

 will. The storms I enjoy are matters of hearsay. 



Take up a ponderous government quarto 

 of the geological survey and glance over the 

 splendid plates of remarkable rocks, canons, 

 and high hills, and then look out of your 

 window at the fields and meadow. What a 

 contrast ! Yes, a decided one, and yet if 

 you take an open-eyed walk you will find a 

 good deal of the same thing, but on a smaller 

 scale. You have not thought of it before ; 

 that is all. I put this matter to a practical 

 test not long ago, and was satisfied with the 

 result. The last plate had been looked at 

 and the book was closed with a sigh, and a 

 restless youth, looking over the wide range 

 of fields before him, was thinking of the 

 grand mountains, strange deserts, and deep 

 canons pi&ured in the volume on his lap, and 

 comparing such a country with the monoto- 

 nous surroundings of his home. 



" What a stupid place this part of the 

 world is !" he said at last. " I wish I could 

 go out West." 



