Following out the upward course of the ravine, we pass out of 

 Virginia Wood on to Woodland Road, and turning to the right 

 we continue on our way until we reach the north-easterly cor- 

 ner of Spot Pond, where we obtain a partial view of the pond 

 and Pond street. 



But as one of our party has already climbed the hill on the 

 right, we follow him to the top, and from that point behold a 

 scene which more than repays us for our long morning tramp. 



Before us in all of its unsurpassed loveliness, lies the gem of 

 eastern Massachusetts, the most picturesque of all her ponds, and, 

 while we are resting on this hill, I will point out to you some of 

 its most attractive features. 



The large island near the centre is called Great Island. It con- 

 tains about an acre of land nearly covered with a fine grove of 

 evergreen and beech trees, and has always been a favorite re- 

 sort for pleasure parties. 



Some thirty-five years ago, there was a colony of old country 

 people near the old Red Mill, who, in keeping up their old home 

 custom, were in the habit of visiting Great Island to have wrest- 

 ling matches, and among them was a famous wrestler by the 

 name of Shute, whom no one had been able to throw; but one 

 day when under the influence of too much '"alf and 'alf" he was 

 overthrown and his companions subsequently erected over the 

 spot a granite slab bearing the inscription, "Here Shute fell." 

 When the ex-champion next visited the island, and saw this re- 

 minder of his disgrace, he lost his temper and hurrying away 

 never afterwards visited the place; but the monument still re- 

 mains, with the inscription badly defaced by time and has given 

 rise to many legends and conjectures as to its meaning, some 

 fanciful and amusing and some historical and probable. 



Spot Pond is surrounded on all sides by charming woodlands, 

 while the gracefully curving lines of its shores make a succession 

 of lovely bays, every turn of which reveals a new combination 

 ot beauty. 



I have been with those who were unable to discover any com- 

 position here fit for a picture, but I consoled myself with the re- 

 flection that there were some who if they were permitted to catch 

 a glimpse of Heaven, would criticize it adversely and declare that 

 it was not so very beautiful after all. 



For myself, every rock and tree is a thing of beauty, full of 



