VI , PEEFACE 



he had. ever seen at home, nestled close to his mother, 

 and asked with hated hreath, "Mither, is there a 

 God here ? " 



Ye^hfi Pepacton is a placid current, especially in 

 its u^^r portions, where my youth fell ; but all its 

 tributaries are swift mountain brooks fed by springs 

 the best in the world. It drains a high pastoral 

 country lifted into long, round-backed hills and rug- 

 ged, wooded ranges by the subsiding impulse of the 

 Catskill range of mountains, and famous for its supe- 

 rior dairy and other farm products. It is many long 

 years since, with the restlessness of youth, I broke 

 away from the old ties amid those hills ; but my 

 heart has always been there, and why should I not 

 come back and name one of my books for the old 

 stream ? 



