A SUMMER DRIVE IN THE LAKE COUNTRY. 235 
where we stopped for dinner. As we started out in the 
afternoon, we overtook in the village two Italians, one 
carrying a heavy pole, the other leading a huge per- 
forming bear. Horses almost invariably shy at a bear; 
not so, Bess. She sprang forward for it, and it was 
with difficulty I kept her from running the ungainly 
creature down. It seemed to be a new experience to 
the Italians, who screamed and howled upon us some 
imprecation, but they were lively in giving us plenty of 
the road. 
We spent a few days pleasantly with friends at Bath, 
but the weather was intensely hot and dry, making 
travel uncomfortable, excepting in the early and later 
portions of the day. 
Arrangements had already been made to spend a 
week at Hammondsport. So we concluded to start 
‘very early in the morning in order to avoid heat and 
fatigue, the two chief drawbacks of summer travel by 
private conveyance. 
The carriage was at the door about 3 o’clock, and we 
were some miles on the way before the first signs of the 
morning appeared in the east. It seemed a little weird 
and uncanny at first to start out into an unknown coun- 
try in the night, but just as the first streaks of dawn 
‘appeared, a delightful change came over the face of 
nature. We were well up the valley as the stars 
began to fade out and the yellow to overspread the 
eastern sky. A heavy perfume of grass and growing 
grain filled the cool, dewy air. The sibilant song of the 
_hair bird, insect like, was the first sound of awakening 
