, somewhat less imposing as to size and detail, was
then constructed for the use of the guides. These operations employed
our three men with their axes the greater part of two hours. Supper was
the next matter under consideration, and was deftly prepared by 'Sid,'
the aspirant, who proved himself an excellent cook. Our bill of fare
consisted of hasty pudding (corn mush), eaten with butter and maple
sugar (a dish for a king, and therefore well suited to sundry of the
sovereign people, only Elsie and I, having no vote, cannot in any sense
be called sovereign), bread and butter, crackers, and toast. Our guides,
in addition, ate a slice of raw pork. Diogenes tried it, but pronounced
it rather too much like candles to be very palatable south of Labrador
or Kamtschatka.

Supper over, the sun had set, and the only work that remained for the
twilight was the gathering of the fuel to feed the fires during the
coming night.

Daylight faded away, the moon rose, and the gay chat by the fireside
being exhausted, a silence, profound, and unbroken save by the crackling
flames, fell upon the quiet, gray old forest. By and by the fire died
down, and not a single sound could be heard, not the rustle of a bough,
the tinkling of the stream, or the stirring of any forest creature. The
moon sailed over the treetops, and a ghostly dreaminess lulled every
sense, not to sleep, but to languid repose. Fatigue, thus far, there had
been none, but physical and mental excitement plenty, and hence the
writer's sleep during her first night of camping out lasted about one
half hour. She watched the careful guides, how each one rose once during
the short night to feed the fires, the elder one alert, the two younger
drowsy and but half awake; her mind wandered with Humboldt and Bonpland
to South America, with Dr. Kane to the Arctic zone, with Winthrop over
the Rocky Mountains, with Dr. Livingstone to Central Africa, and with
Father Huc to Tartary and Thibet. The busy, confined life of a city
seemed an absurdity, the woods the only rational place for human beings
to dwell in, and spruce boughs the only bed suitable to the dignity of
mankind.

Morning broke, and with the dawn the guides were up preparing
breakfast. Bill of fare: Salt pork, first parboiled to extract the
brine, then drained off and fried crisp, bread and butter, toast,
crackers, and tea, with maple sugar, but without milk. Our little tin
pail served alike to draw water, boil hasty pudding