174 ' PEARLS AND PEBBLES. 



lichens, those pioneers of vegetation, giving them a time- 

 worn, hoary appearance. One after another they 

 stretched away, until Mount Julien rose like a crown 

 upon the mainland beyond. ( 



With pleasure I contemplated the varied beauties of 

 wood and rock, island and forest-bounded lake, and to 

 the eastward the red rocky crest of Eagle Mount. How 

 I longed to revel in those fields of mosses that are fed 

 and kept ever green by its many springs, and which 

 carpet in mosaic-like patches the surface of the gneiss 

 rock. 



It was indeed a lovely place, and I congratulated my 

 daughter on her choice of the site for our little cottage. 



Everything was new, clean and fresh within the little 

 domicile, and all without wild and picturesque — rocks, 

 trees, hill and valley, wild-flowers, ferns, shrubs and 

 moss, and the pure, sweet scent of the pines over all, 

 breathing health and strength. 



If I were a doctor ' I would send my patients to live 

 in a shanty under the pines. 



Our house is a small one. On one side a branching 

 oak, with its dark shining leaves, nearly covers the roof, 

 on the other a tall pine and an oak shade the veranda. 



The island rises in the centre, and to the south is 

 thickly wooded with many noble trees. The shores are 

 steep and precipitous. A deep channel on one side 

 divides the higher and main portion of the island from 

 the lofty wooded mounds to the eastward. 



