ing away so
quietly in the old woods, that I could scarce persuade myself of their
reality. For a while I lay luxuriating as in the delusion of a
pleasant dream, as though the melody that was abroad on the air was
the voices of angels chanting their lullaby into the charmed ear of
the sleeper. Presently, Smith raised his head, supporting his cheek
upon his hand, his elbow resting upon the ground, and after listening
for a moment, opened his eyes in bewilderment exclaiming, as he looked
in utter astonishment about him, "What, in the name of all that is
mysterious, is that?"

Spalding and the Doctor followed, and their amazement was equalled
only by their admiration when

"Oft in the stilly night"

came stealing in matchless harmony over the water, "A serenade from
the Naiads, by Jupiter!" exclaimed Smith.

"A concert, by the Genii of the waters!" cried the
Doctor.

"Hush!" said Spalding, "we are trespassing upon fairy
domain; the spirits of these old woods, these mountains and
rock-bound lakes, are abroad, and well may they carol in
their joyousness in a night like this."

In a little while the music changed, and

"Come o'er the moonlight sea"

came swelling over the lake. And again it changed and

"Come mariner down in the deep with me"

went gently and swiftly abroad on the air. The music
ceased for a moment, and then two manly voices, of great
depth and power, came floating to our ears to the words:

"'Farewell! Farewell! To thee, Araby's daughter,'
Thus warbled a Perl, beneath the deep sea,
'No pearl ever lay under Onan's dark water,
More pure in its shell than thy spirit in thee.'"

"That's flesh and blood, at least," exclaimed the Doctor, "and I
propose to ascertain who are treating as to this charming serenade in
the stillness of midnight."

We went down to the margin of the lake, and a few rods from the shore
lay a little craft like our own, in which were seated two gentlemen,
the one with a flute and the other with a violin. They had seen our
campfire from their shanty on the other side of the lake, and had
crossed over to surprise us with the melody of human music. And
pleasantly indeed it sounded in the stillness and repose of that
summer night in that wild region. The echoes that dwell among those
old forests, those hills and beautiful lakes, had never been startled
from their slumbers by such sounds before, and right merrily they
carried them from hill to hill, and