XXXIV 
THE HOLIDAY OF DREAMS 
BACK to Traumfest one comes, after each expe- 
dition out over the mountains. And one day 
the truth dawns upon you, — the title so arbitrarily 
bestowed upon Traumfest belongs to the whole 
region. Yes, this whole stretch of enchanting and 
enchanted mountains is the "Holiday of Dreams." 
And thinking back over those days of happy wan- 
dering, how many interesting places appear before 
the mind's eye that have not been so much as men- 
tioned in this book; how many lovely scenes have 
been witnessed, how many pleasant adventures 
encountered that have not been recorded, how many 
flowers have blossomed without mention, how many 
birds have sung unchronicled, how many quaint 
native phrases have been passed over in silence ! 
And as the years have slipped by, with what pangs 
of regret one has watched the passing of the primi- 
tive life of the mountains, and with what pleasure 
one reverts to those old days when everybody was 
uncomfortable and everybody happy. How many 
to-day, seeing the train with its line of Pullman 
sleepers come in on time at Traumfest, remember 
those days when the track went only as far as Hen- 
dersonville, and when, with the old-time courtesy of 
the Southern man, the conductor politely stopped 
