over a novice, except in the single act of landing the fish after he strikes. Unlike fly-fishing, it affords no muscular exercise, no constantly recurring excitement, no skillful casting, no delicate manipulation, and none of the thrill which follows the rise and rush of the fish for the lure which rests upon the surface of the water. And yet it is a pleasant pastime, healthful and invigorating, affording ample opportunity for reading and meditation, and bringing before the eye ever-changing views of the grand old mountains and forest-clad valleys which constitute the attractiveness and beauty of all this region. When the "grasshopper shall become a burden," when "those that look out of the windows shall be darkened," when "the keepers of the house shall tremble," when my "right hand shall forget its cunning," and when I shall no longer be able to wade the mountain stream or cast a fly, if Providence shall thus gently lead me homeward, I shall doubtless find delight in this less robust and less exhilarating amusement. But, meanwhile, I shall leave the troll to those whose waning vigor, neglected education, immature tastes or blissful ignorance render them content with this primary branch of the angler's art.

66

The "signs" which mark the advent of the good time" longed for through seven months of weary winter and tardy spring-the budding of

man.

flowers and the blossoming of fruit-trees — having come, with a single companion, and with an elastic buoyancy not at all in keeping with the traditional rheumatic propriety of time-wrinkles and silvered locks, we moved off, on the 23d of May, for that Eden of Anglers, where nature unadorned excels in picturesqueness and grandeur, as well as in vastness and magnificence, all the noted parks and preserves which have acquired their attractiveness and beauty through the genius, taste and affluence of And I trust that this vast forest may never be less a forest than it is to-day. The movement recently initiated to declare it and hold it in perpetuity as a state park, marks the wisdom of those who made the suggestion, is in harmony with the spirit of the age, and, a century hence, if now inaugurated, will be recognized as the highest proof of the wisdom, sagacity and foresight of the statesmen of our time. And this not simply because it would thus remain forever a resort for the sportsman and invalid, but because it would remain forever, as it is to-day, the abundant feeder of several of our navigable rivers, and the best guarantee, as science assures us, of that equable temperature and uniform rain-fall which are so essential to the material prosperity of the State. The arguments in favor of the proposition are irresistible to all but those who contemn the logic of science and "take

no thought" for the generations to come, who will follow us with their blessings or their maledictions according as what we project or accomplish is petty and injurious or grand and beneficent.

Many wonder that veteran anglers so often enter this vast solitude alone, or with but one or two companions. The answer is easy. It is impossible for men of radically dissimilar tastes in minor matters to always enjoy each others' companionship in the compulsory intimacy of camp-life. The slightest exhibition of uneasiness, discontent or impatience is sufficient to cast a shadow upon the whole camp, and excite perpetual apprehension lest the programme of the day shall run counter to the wishes of some of "the crowd." One who goes into the woods to find a respite from the rasping collisions of business or professional life, does not like to encounter disharmonies in the very solitude where he had thought to find repose. It would not be difficult to pick up a score of good fellows, enthusiastic anglers and excellent companions; but it would be difficult to find half that number who would be always in harmony on the minor points of camp-life. There are some who desire to be always moving and others who are satisfied wherever the surroundings are pleasant and fishing tolerable

who are content with the poorest "luck,"

and who find their highest enjoyment in killing trout in the most improbable places.

It was not until the 25th of May that the budding flowers and fruit-tree blossoms gave token that the time had come when one might hope for success in angling in these prolific waters. It was a pleasant day, clear and sunny, just such a day as one likes to have when starting out upon a journey, whether of business or of pleasure. A brief run to Whitehall, and a quiet night-ride through Lake Champlain brought us to Plattsburg, the gate-way to the wilderness.

The road from thence to the Saranac lake, twenty miles by rail and thirty-five by wagon over a fair road, opens up a constant succession of grand mountain views, making the ride one of the most agreeable and picturesque to be found within the compass of the State.

Martin's hostelry, which has been quadrupled in dimensions since I first visited it fifteen years ago, is located at the foot of the lower Saranac, and is one of the two or three really excellent restingplaces in the wilderness. My only present objection to it is that it too much resembles, in its service and appointments, the "first-class" hotels of our more fashionable watering-places. But so we go. No sooner do we find a pleasant place where we can literally "take mine ease in mine inn," and

walk about, if one so pleases, in slippers and shirtsleeves, than presto, silk trails, patent-leather boots and kid gloves drive us elsewhere to find simple comfort, unincumbered by stately formalities and white cravats. But Martin deserves the prosperity he is enjoying; and he knows so well "how it is himself," that he always reserves "space and verge enough" in his ample mansion to permit the unostentatious and quietly disposed angler to enjoy himself in his own way without disturbing the less simple-minded guests who come hither to breathe the pure mountain air and renew their youth.

Notwithstanding the nonsense Murray and others have written about the beneficent influence of a trip through the Adirondacks upon the health of hopeless invalids, the real invalids those who require home-like repose as well as change of air have generally too much good sense to believe that an exhausting journey, exposed to all sorts of weather and to inconveniences and hardships unbearable without very considerable vitality, can, by possibility, be beneficial. To be sure, the year succeeding the publication of Murray's book, not a few, standing on the very brink of the grave, were deluded into the hope that, if they could but manage to drag themselves or to be dragged from the Saranacs to the Fulton range, they would, by some undefinable process, experience the miracle of a