as I came out, jumped in, and
we drove back to a good supper by candle-light.

The stars were shining over head, the air was clear and crisp,
down in the valley of Lebanon the mist was falling, and it was
cool that night. Lulled by the monotonous song of the tree-toad
and the deep bass croaking of frogs by the distant stream, we fell
asleep.

There was nothing to do next day. The new steering-head could not
possibly arrive until the morning following. As the farm was
worked by a tenant, our host had little to do, and proposed that
we drive to the Shaker village a few miles beyond.

The visit is well worth making, and we should have missed it
entirely if the automobile had not broken down, for the new State
road over the mountain does not go through the village, but back
of it. From the new road one can look down upon the cluster of
large buildings on the side of the mountain, but the old roads are
so very steep, with such interesting names as "Devil's Elbow," and
the like, that they would not tempt an automobile. Many with
horses get out and walk at the worst places.

One wide street leads through the settlement; on each side are the
huge community buildings, seven in all, each occupied by a
"family," so called, or community, and each quite independent in
its management and enterprises from the others; the common ties
being the meeting-house near the centre and the school-house a
little farther on.

We stopped at the North Family simply because it was the first at
hand, and we were hungry. Ushered into a little reception-room in
one of the outer buildings, we were obliged to wait for dinner
until the party preceding us had finished, for the little
dining-room devoted to strangers had only one table, seating but six
or eight, and it seemed to be the commendable policy of the
institution to serve each party separately.

A printed notice warned us that dinner served after one o'clock
cost ten cents per cover extra, making the extravagant charge of
sixty cents. We arrived just in time to be entitled to the regular
rate, but the dilatory tactics of the party in possession kept us
beyond the hour and involved us in the extra expense, with no
compensation in the shape of extra dishes. Morally and--having
tendered ourselves within the limit--legally we were entitled to
dine at the regular rate, or the party ahead should have paid the
additional tariff, but the good sister could not see the matter in
that light, plead