ry sheen, with occasional
patches of sedge, and the tender sort of foliage that Corot liked to
paint, gives an exceptional refinement to the landscape. One needs,
indeed, to be toned up by the glimpses, under the trees, over the blue
water, of the wooded craggy hills, with their shelf-like ledges, which
are full of strength and character. The charm of the place is due to
this combination of loveliness and granitic strength.

Irene long remembered the sail of that morning, seated in the bow of the
steamer with King, through scenes of ever-changing beauty, as the boat
wound about the headlands and made its calls, now on one side and now
on the other, at the pretty landings and decorated hotels. On every hand
was the gayety of summer life--a striped tent on a rocky point with a
platform erected for dancing, a miniature bark but on an island, and a
rustic arched bridge to the mainland, gaudy little hotels with winding
paths along the shore, and at all the landings groups of pretty girls
and college lads in boating costume. It was wonderful how much these
holiday makers were willing to do for the entertainment of the passing
travelers. A favorite pastime in this peaceful region was the broom
drill, and its execution gave an operatic character to the voyage. When
the steamer approaches, a band of young ladies in military ranks, clad
in light marching costume, each with a broom in place of a musket,
descend to the landing and delight the spectators with their warlike
manoeuvres. The march in the broom-drill is two steps forward and one
step back, a mode of progression that conveys the notion of a pleasing
indecision of purpose, which is foreign to the character of these
handsome Amazons, who are quite able to hold the wharf against all
comers. This act of war in fancy, dress, with its two steps forward and
one back, and the singing of a song, is one of the most fatal to the
masculine peace of mind in the whole history of carnage.

Mrs. Bartlett Glow, to be sure, thought it would be out of place at
the Casino; but even she had to admit that the American girl who would
bewitch the foreigner with her one, two, and one, and her flourish of
broom on Lake George, was capable of freezing his ardor by her cool
good-breeding at Newport.

There was not much more to be done at Saratoga. Mrs. Benson had tried
every spring in the valley, and thus anticipated a remedy, as Mr. Benson
said, for any possible "complaint" that might visit her