THE POND OK THE MOUNTAIN. 27 



bank of some wild stream looks pleasant, as a resting- 

 place from the toil of travel. 



Our way at one place lay across a hill, lower to be 

 sure than the mountains on our left, but which rose to 

 an elevation of some eight hundred or a thousand feet 

 above the ravine that wound around its base, Here, 

 on the very summit of a hill, we came to a pond some 

 two hundred yards in circumference, the water of 

 which was beautifully clear and cold ; two small 

 streams from its opposite sides started off in contrary 

 directions, on their journey to "the great deep," the 

 one to empty itself into the Chazy, and the other to 

 wander, the Lord knows where, save to its final des- 

 tination, the mighty St. Lawrence and the ocean. 

 Though blest with two outlets, the pond had no inlet 

 visible to the eye. It was in fact a great spring or 

 reservoir, on a dividing ridge, which received its 

 waters from below, to send them off through the 

 channels I have mentioned. The land around it was 

 marshy, but covered with small boulders, which lay 

 around the edge with the regularity almost of a wall. 



Having rigged my pole and line, I stepped from 

 rock to rock to the margin of the pond, and threw 

 my fly. It had scarcely touched the water when it 



