vi PKEFACE. 



guide, or perhaps my own, reflected back from the quiet 

 depths of some of those pure waters, that nestle so qui- 

 etly among the ancient forests and the hills. 



I was on a " tramp," partly for health and partly for 

 pleasure. I had no intention of publishing a book of ad- 

 ventures, but I kept memoranda in pencil in small field- 

 books, and after my return wrote them out as my leisure 

 permitted. Some three or four of the first chapters were 

 published in the shape of letters to editors of my ac- 

 quaintance. The balance rested until I became connected 

 with the press, as the editor of the Albany State Register. 

 I looked upon the manuscript as a sort of fund, upon 

 which I could draw for light reading, with which to amuse 

 my readers when pressed for "copy." Upon submitting 

 it to one of the proprietors of the paper for his aid in 

 making selections, he surprised me somewhat by saying 

 it was all readable, and advised me to begin at the begin- 

 ning, without troubling myself by making extracts. I 

 followed his advice, and a large portion of the work was 

 thus published in chapters, in my paper. It was well 

 spoken of by friends, in whose judgment I had confidence, 

 and was somewhat extensively copied by the press. I was 

 advised to publish the whole in a book form. I submitted 

 it to a gentleman in the publishing line, and here it is, my 

 first, and very possibly my las f effort, at authorship. It 



