mbrella will be found a useful addition in case of
sudden rain or very hot sun. Each person will carry such toilet
arrangements as he or she may deem necessary, only let them be as light
as possible, every ounce on such a tramp soon becoming a matter of
serious consequence.

We left the farmhouse at half past six in the morning, and drove in the
wagon as far as the road was good, three miles, namely, to the last
cabin on the way to the Au Sable Ponds. There our guides shouldered
their packs, and our party was increased by the addition of 'Uncle
David,' another ancient pioneer, who was to row us up the Lower Pond in
a large Albany-built boat kept by him for that purpose. He talks of
building a moderate-sized tenement at the lower end of the lake, for the
accommodation of travellers. I doubt not it would be well patronized.

Now, our Diogenes does not use the lantern of his wit so much to seek
out a thoroughly honest man, as to discover the honesty and good will
pertaining to each individual specimen of the _genus homo_. The
consequence is a series of pleasant results, people usually showing him
whatever of good may be in them, and esteeming him proportionately. As
Uncle David was discussing the amount of furniture required for his
intended caravansary, he paused to ask if feather beds would be thought
a necessity. Diogenes replied that 'every goose needing feathers could
bring them on his own back,' which shaft _took_ immensely, as proved by
the loud guffaws and low chuckles that echoed through the beautiful
forest whose branches shaded us from the August sun. _His_ reputation as
a wit of the first water was firmly established, and every pun and jest
thereafter succeeding was crowned by the halo of this first success.

The four miles to the Pond were speedily and gayly accomplished, and
there we took boat to cross the lake, Uncle David rowing _us_, and the
good-humored, broad-shouldered 'novice,' the scow to be used for our
return, in case we were not back at the time then supposed probable.
'Bill's' rowing was the source of much merriment, the strokes proving
powerful, but the course amusingly devious. So little does it take to
entertain people in the woods, who have laid aside grim behavior and
questioning philosophies, and have for the nonce become veritable
children of nature, knowing that this earth is beautiful and that God is
good, and caring for little else.

The Lower Au Sable Pond is from one to two miles lo