ere tried in vain to inform some of us, of the
Conedoguinet.

Let us go close to the water. How charming! The grass grows heavy and
green from the road-side under the dense shade of the oaks and willows
to the very lips of the water; and the ground under our feet is so
level and smooth that we have as perfect a walk as the Central Park can
offer; and this is all the work of Nature. How clear the water is! We
can see everything on the bottom with perfect distinctness. Rich green
water plants bend their limbs gracefully to the force of the current.
Old dead sticks lie stiff and stark, that once were living branches
swaying and singing above their present burial places, not dreaming of
death and decay, so beautiful were they. Great rocks heave their brown
backs up to the very top of the water. Beds of gravel still and clear,
glisten in the depths. Here the cool shade, there the warm sunshine.
Here the smooth water, there the troubled current.

The temptation is great; dive in we must. The water, how cool it is and
refreshing! But so shallow that in attempting to swim there is danger
of abrading the knees against the bottom. We wash, we splash about with
rollicking freedom, we lie down flat letting the water cover us and
lift us again buoyant on its bosom, and bear us on with its current.
What an infinite charm resides in the water about us! Beautiful the
great trees under whose shade we lie. Beautiful the grassy bank--but
lo! a small heap of dirty clothes on the greensward! We turn away with
disgust and laughter. Insignia of glory!--a shilling's worth to the
rag-picker. What a contrast they present to the loveliness of the
common things around us!

Yonder other wanderers are having a more various enjoyment. They have
fished out of the mud an old dug-out, leaky and every way disabled. But
by dint of skillful engineering they have got her afloat and are
pulling and paddling about, as happy, as free from care, and to
complete the picture, as naked as any South Sea Islander in his
merriest aquatic mood. Hither and thither, up and down, they float at
their own sweet wills, having no orders from superior officers to obey.
And this is part of a column supposed to be watching a vigilant and
powerful enemy! What if the assembly should beat suddenly now! There
would be a pretty scampering truly.

Crawling reluctantly ashore again, we transform ourselves into United
States soldiers, and trudge along the road by the river bank for