The day was fine, and the shores of the lake, clustered with historical associations, presented a series of beautiful pictures ; for they were rich with forest verdure, the harvests of a fruitful seed-time, and thrifty villages and farmhouses. Behind these, on the east, arose the lofty ranges of the Green Mountains, in Vermont ; and on the west were the Adirondacks of New York, whither we were journeying, their clustering peaks, distant and shadowy, bathed in the golden light of a summer afternoon.

Lake Champlain is deep and narrow, and one hundred and forty mile in length. It received its present name from its discoverer, the eminent French navigator, Samuel Champlain, who was upon its waters the same

THE HUDSON.

year when Hudson sailed up tlie river -which bears his name. Champlaiu came from the north, and Hudson from the south ; and they penetrated the -wilderness to points within a hundred miles of each other. Long before, the Indians had given it the significant title of Can-i-a-de-ri Quarun-te, the Door of the Country. The appropriateness of this name will be illustrated hereafter.

It was evening when we arrived at Port Kent. We remained until morning with a friend (Winslow C. AVatson, Es(i., a descendant of Governor Winslow, who came to New England in the 3IaijfIotrer), Avhoso personal explorations and general knowledge of the region we were about to visit, enabled him to give us information of much value in our subsequent course. With himself and family we visited the walled banks of the Great Au Sable, near Keeseville, and stood with wonder and awe at the bottom of a terrific gorge in sandstone, rent by an earthquake's power, and a foaming river rushing at our feet. The gorge, for more than a mile, is from thirty to forty feet in width, and over one hundred in depth.