314 
WALDEH. 
latter, a rise or fall of the ice of an almost infinitesimal 
amount made a difference of several feet on a tree across 
the pond. When I began/to cut holes for sounding, 
there were three or four itiches of water on the ice un¬ 
der a deep snow which had sunk it thus far; but the 
water began immediately to run into these holes, and 
continued to run for two days in deep streams, which 
wore away the ice on every side, and contributed es¬ 
sentially, if not mainly, to dry the surface of the pond; 
for, as the water ran in, it raised and floated the ice. 
This was somewhat like cutting a hole in the bottom of 
a ship to let the water out. When such holes freeze, 
and a rain succeeds, and finally a new freezing forms a 
fresh smooth ice over all, it is beautifully mottled inter¬ 
nally by dark figures, shaped somewhat like a spider’s 
web, what you may call ice rosettes, produced by the 
channels worn by the water flowing from all sides to a 
centre. Sometimes, also, when the ice was covered 
with shallow puddles, I saw a double shadow of myself, 
one standing on the head of the other, one on the ice, 
the other on the trees or hill-side. 
While yet it is cold January, and snow and ice are 
thick and solid, the prudent landlord comes from the vil¬ 
lage to get ice to cool his summer drink; impressively, 
even pathetically wise, to foresee the heat and thirst of 
July now in January, -— wearing a thick coat and mit¬ 
tens ! when so many things are not provided for. 
It may be that he lays up no treasures in this world 
which will cool his summer drink in the next. He cuts 
and saws the solid pond, unroofs the house of fishes, and 
carts off their very element and air, held fast by chains 
