I I
~ I~_ 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and fifty-two, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
in thie Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District
of New York.
I 
P R E F A C E.
THE design of the series of volumes, entitled
MA/RCO PAUL'S ADVENTURES IN THE PURSUIT OF
KNOWLEDGE, is not merely to entertain the reader
with a narrative of juvenile adventures, but also to
communicate, in connection with them, as extensive
and varied information as possible, in respect to
the geography, the scenery, the customs and the
institutions of this country, as they present themselves to the observation of the little traveler, who
makes his excursions under the guidance of an
intelligent and well-informed companion, qualified
to assist him in the acquisition of knowledge and in
the formation of character.   The  author has endeavored to enliven his narrative, and to infuse into
it elements of a salutary moral influence, by means
of personal incidents befalling the actors in the
story.  These incidents are, of course, imaginary
-* -.0 
P R E!A C E.
but the reader may rely upon the strict and exact
truth and fidelity of all the descriptions of places,
institutions and scenes, which are brought before
his mind in the progress of the narrative. Thus,
though the author hopes that the readers who may
honor these volumes with their perusal, will be
amused and interested by them, his design throughout will be to instruct rather than to entertain
vi 
CONTENTS.
CHAP't ER
I.-JOURNEYING,
II.-ACCIDENTS,..
III.-THE GRASS COUNTRY,
IV.-THE VILLAGE,.
V.-STUDYING,..
VI. —TE LOG CANOE,.
VII.-A DILEMMA,
VIII.-A CONrFESSION,..
IX.-BOATIi,NG,. 
X.-AN EXPEDITION,.
XI.-T,osT rIN THE WOODS,.
* * I
PAGI
.   11
26
. 44
62
. 80
98
. 116
135
. 152
171
. 191 
ENGRAVINGS.
THE GREAT ELM,
THE HILL,.
THE ACCIDENT,
WVHO ARE YOU?.
THE LUMB3ER Box,
THE TIRE,.
THE RISK,.
THE STUDY,
M{ARCO'S DESI,
THE LUMBER Box,..........................53
THE TIRE.
THE RISK.................................77
THE STUDY,.....................................81
MARCO'S DESK.............................93
BOAT ADRIFT...................................106
CAP GONE................................112
THE MILLMANS HOUSE......................118
PADDLING.......................................122
BOAT  ADRIFT..
CAP GONE,.
THE MILL~IAN'S HOUSE,
PADDLING,
MARco's Room,.
Toss,...
BAD ROWING,.
GOOD ROWING..
THE PORTAGE,.
THE EXPEDITION.
THE DRAG,
THE SCHOOL HousE,.
THE RIDE,
. o..
PAGE
14
24
34
46
53
70
77
81
93
106
112
118
122
137
157
160
169
177
186
190
197
208 
I.-IN NEW YORK.
II.-ON THE ERIE CANAL.
III.-IN MAINE.
IV.-IN VERMONT.
V.-IN BOSTON.
VI.-AT THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY.
ORDER  OF THE VOLT.T/AESo
4 - 0.
3tarr   V, aat 
PRINCIPAL PERSONS
MR. BARON, a merchant of New York.
MARCO, his son, a boy about twelve years old.
JOHN FORESTER, Marco's cousin, about nineteen years old.
Marco is traveling and studying under Forester's care. 
MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
CHAPTER I.
JOUR NE YIN G.
Situation of Vermont.
HEN Mr. Baron, Marco's father, put
Marco under his cousin Forester's care,
it was his intention that he should spend a considerable part of his time in traveling, and in
out-of-door exercises, such as might tend to reestablish his health and strengthen his constitution. He did not, however, intend to have him
give up the study of books altogether. Accordingly, at one time, for nearly three months,
Marco remained at Forester's home, among the
Green Mountains of Vermont, where he studied
several hours every day.
It was in the early part of the autumn, that
he  and  Forester went  to Vermont.   They
traveled in the stage-coach. Vermont lies upon
one side of the Connecticut river, and New
Hampshire upon the other side. The Green
Plan for Marco. 
2       lMARCO PAUL IN VERMlON''.
Lake George.                                  Lake Chaminplain.
Mountains extend up and down, through the
middle of Vermont, from north to south, and
beyond these mountains, on the western side of
the state, is lake Champlain, which extends from
north to south also, and forms the western
boundary. Thus, the Green Mountains divide
the state into two great portions, one descending to the eastward, toward Connecticut river,
and the other to the westward, toward lake
Champlain.   There are, therefore, two great
ways of access to Vermont from the states south
of it; one up the Connecticut river on the
eastern side, and the other along the shores of
lake George and lake Champlain on the western
side. There are roads across the Green Mountains also, leading from the eastern portion of
the state to the western. All this can be seen
by looking upon any map of Vermont.
Marco and Forester went up by the Connecticut river. The road lay along upon the bank
of the river, and the scenery was very pleasant.
They traveled in the stage-coach; for there
were very few railroads in those days.
The country was cultivated and fertile, and
the prospect from the windows of the coach
was very fine. Sometimes wide meadows and
intervales extended along the river,-and at 
JOURNEYING.
Valley of the Connecticut.       Various stages.
other places, high hills, covered with trees, advanced close to the stream. They could see,
too, the farms, and villages, and green hills,
across the river, on the New Hampshire side.
On the second day of their journey, they
turned off from the river by a road which led
into the interior of the country; for the village
where Forester's father resided was back among
the mountains.  They had new companions in
the coach too, on this second day, as well as a
new route; for the company which had been
in the coach the day before were to separate
in the morning, to go off in different directions.
Several stage-coaches drove up to thie door of
the tavern in the morning, just after breakfast,
with the names of the places where they were
going to, upon their sides. One was marked,
" Haverhill and Lancaster;" another, "Middlebury;" and a third, "Concord and Boston;"
and there was one odd-looking vehicle, a sort
of carryall, open in front, and drawn by two
horses, which had no name upon it, and so
Marco could not tell where it was going. As
these several coaches and carriages drove up
to the door, the hostlers and drivers put on the
baggage and bound it down with great straps,
and then handed in the passengers;-and thus
13
The passengers. 
14     MARCO  PAUL  IN  VERMO NT.
The elm-tree.
the coaches, one after another, drove away.
The wvhole movement formed a very busy scene,
and Marco, standing upon the piazza in front
of the tavern, enjoyed it very much.
There was a very large elm-tree before the
door, with steps to climb up, and seats among
the branches. Marco went up there and sat
some time, looking down upon the coaches as
they wheeled round the tree, in coming up to
the door.  Then he went down to the piazzai
again.
THE, GREAT El,,. 
J o J R N EY ING.
Her orange-tree.
There was a neatly-dressed young woman,
with a little flower-pot in her hand, standing
near him, waiting for her turn. There was a
small orange-tree in her flower-pot.   It was
about six inches high. The sight of this
orange-tree interested Marco very much, for it
reminded him of home. He had often seen
orange-trees growing in the parlors and greenhouses in New York.
"What  a pretty little  orange-tree!"  said
Marco.  "Where did you get it?"
"How did you know it was an orange-tree?"
said the girl.
" 0, I know an orange-tree well enough," replied Marco.  "I have seen them manya time."
"Where?" asked the girl.
"In New  York," said Marco.   "Did your
orange-tree come from New York?"
"No," said the girl.  "I planted an orangeseed, and it grew from that. I've got a lemontree, too," she added, " but it is a great deal
larger. The lemon-tree grows faster than the
orange.   My  lemon-tree is so large  that I
couldn't bring it home very well, so I left it in
the mill."
"In the mill?" said Marco.   " Are you a
niller?"
15
The factory girl. 
16   MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Montpelier.       The trunk.        Mary Williams.
The girl laughed.   She was a very goodhumored girl, and did not appear to be displeased, though it certainly was not quite
proper for Marco to speak in that manner to a
stranger. She did not, however, reply to his
question, but said, after a pause,
"Do you know where the Montpelier stage
is?"
The proper English meaning of the word
stage is a portion of the road, traveled between
one resting-place and another.   But in the
United States it is used to mean the carriage,
-being a sort of contraction for stage-coach.
"No," said Marco, "we are going in that
stage."
"I wish it would come along," said the girl,
"for I'm tired of watching my trunk."
"Where is your trunk?" said Marco.
So the girl pointed out her trunk. It was
upon the platform of the piazza, near those belonging to Forester and Marco.   The  girl
showed Marco her name, which was Mary
Williams, written on a card upon the end of
it.
"I'll watch your trunk," said Marco, "and
you can go in and sit down until the stage
comes.
Mary  AVilliams. 
JOURNE Y ING.
The sailor and his chest.          The passengers.
Mary thanked him and went in.  She was
not, however, quite sure that her baggage was
safe, intrusted thus to the charge of a strange
boy, and so she took a seat near the window,
where she could keep an eye upon it. There
was a blue chest near these trunks, which
looked like a sailor's chest, and Marco, being
tired of standing, sat down upon this chest.
He had, however, scarcely taken his seat, when
he saw a coach with four horses, coming round
a corner.  It was driven by a small boy not
larger than Marco. It wheeled up toward the
door, and came to a stand. Some men then
put on the sailor's chest and the trunks. Mary
Williams came out and got into the coach.
She sat on the back seat. Forester and Marco
got in, and took their places on the middle seat.
A young man, dressed like a sailor, took the front
seat, at one corner of the  coach.   These
were all the passengers that were to get in
here. When every thing was ready, they drove
away.
The stage stopped, however, in a few minutes at the door of a handsome house in the
town, and took a gentleman and lady in.
These new passengers took- places on the back
seat, with Mary Williams.
a
17 
18    MARCo  PAUL IN VE RM ONT.
Marco and the sailor.
This company rode in perfect silence for
some time. Forester took out a book and began to read. The gentleman on the back seat
went to sleep. Mary Williams and Marco
looked out at the windows, watching the
changing scenery. The sailor rode in silence;
moving his lips now and then, as if he were
talking to himself, but taking no notice of any
of the company. The coach stopped at the villages which they passed through, to exchange the
mail, and sometimes to take in new passengers.
In the course of these changes Marco got his
place shifted to the forward seat by the side of
the sailor, and he gradually got into conversation with him. Marco introduced the conversation, by asking the sailor if he knew how far
it was to Montpelier.
"No," said the sailor, "I don't keep any
reckoning, but I wish we were there."
"Why?" asked Marco.
"0, I expect the old cart will capsize some where among these mountains, and break our
necks for us."
Marco had observed, all the morning, that
when the coach canted to one side or the other,
on account of the unevenness of the road, the
sailor alwvays started and looked anxious, as if 
J OURNEYING.
The sailor afraidl.                 Nature of fear.
afraid it was going to be upset. He wondered
that a man who had been apparently accustomed
to the terrible dangers of the seas, should be
alarmed at the gentle oscillations of a stagecoach.
"Are you afraid that we shall upset?" asked
Marco.
"Yes," said the sailor, "over some of these
precipices and mountains; and then there'll be
an end of us."
The sailor said this in an easy and careless
manner, as if, after all, he was not much concerned about the danger. Still, Marco was
surprised that he should fear it at all. He was
not aware how much the fears which people
feel, are occasioned by the mere novelty of the
danger which they incur. A stage-driver, who
is calm and composed on his box, in a dark
night, and upon dangerous roads, will be alarmed
by the careening of a ship under a gentle breeze
at sea,-while the sailor who laughs at a gale
of wind on the ocean, is afraid to ride in a carriage on land.
"An't you a sailor?" asked Mlarco.
" Yes," replied his companion.
c I shouldn't think that a man that had been
19
Nature of fear. 
20   MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
e  sailor's story.                                            His charsctor.
used to the sea, would be afraid of upsetting in
a coach."
"I'm not a man," said the sailor.
"What are you?" said Marco.
"I'm  a boy.  I'm only nineteen years old;
though I'm going to be rated seaman next voyage.
"Have you just got back from a voyage?"
asked Marco.
"Yes," said the sailor.  "I've been round the
Horn in a whaler, fi'om old Nantuck. And
now I'm going home to see my mother."
"How long since you've seen her?" asked
Marco.
"0, it's four years since I ran away."
Here the sailor began to speak in rather a
lower tone than he had done before, so that
Marco only could hear.  This was not difficult,
as the other passengers were at this time engaged in conversation.
"I ran away," continued the sailor, "and
went to sea about four years ago."
"What made you run away?" asked Marco.
"0, I didn't want to stay at home and be
abused. My father used to abuse me; but my
mother took my part, and now I want to go
and see her."
His character.
The sailor's story. 
J oURNEYING..
Stories of whaling.
And to see your father too," said Marco.
"No," said the sailor.  "I don't care for him.
I hope he's gone off somewhere. But I want
to see my mother.  I have got a shawl for her
in mv chest."
MIarco was shocked to hear a young man
speak in such a manner of his father.  Still
there was something in the frankness and openness of the sailor's manner, which pleased him
verv much. He liked to hear his odd and
sailor-like language too, and he accordingly entered into a long conversation with him.  The
sailor gave him an account of his adventures
on the voyage; how he was drawn off from the
ship one day, several miles, by a whale which
they had harpooned;-how they caught a shark,
and hauled him in on deck by means of a pulley
at the end of the yard-arm;-and how, on the
voyage home, the ship was driven before an
awful gale of wind for five days, under bare
poles, with terrific seas roaring after them all
the Nway.  These descriptions took a strong
hold of MIarco's imagination. His eye brightened up, and he became restless on his seat,
and thought that he would give the world for a
chance to stand up in the bow of a boat, and
put a harpoon into the neck of a whale.
21 
22    MARCO PA U L IN V ER I O NT.
The ro'.l.     I      cidente             The s'tilor's proposal.
In the ime,an tiotne, the day wore away, and
the road led into a more and more mountainous
country. The hills were longer and steeper,
and the tracts of forest more frequent and solitary.  The number of passengers increased too,
until the coach was pretty heavily loaded; and
sometimes all but the female passengers would
get out and walk up the hills. On these occasions Forester and Marco would generally walk
together, talking about the incidents of their
journey, or the occupations and amusements
which they expected to engage in when they
arrived at Forester's home. About the middle
of the afternoon the coach stopped at the foot
of a long winding ascent, steep and stony, and
several of the passengers got out.  Forester,
however, remained in, as he was tired of walking, and so Marco and the sailor walked together. The sailor, finding how much Marco was
interested in his stories, liked his company, and
at length he asked Marco where he was going.
Miarco told him.
"iAh, if vou were only going on a, voyage
with me," said the sailor, "that would make  a
man oft von.  I wouldn't go and be shut up with
that o'1,. prig, poring over books foreveir."
hMaio-\ was displeased to hear the sailor call 
J () URN F EYING. 
Marco deeltoes it.                                              Marco afraid.
his cousin an old prig, and he felt some compunctions of conscience about forming and continuing an intimacy with such a person. Still
he was so much interested in hearing him talk,
that he continued to walk with him up the hill.
Finally, the sailor fairly proposed to him to run
away and go to sea with him.
" O no," said Marco, "I wouldn't do such a
thing for the world.  Besides," said he, "they
would be after us, and carry me back."
" No," said the sailor; "we would cut across
the country, traveling in the night and laying
to by day, till we got to another stage route, and
then make a straight wake, till we got to New
Bedford, and there we could get a good voyage.
Come," said he, "let's go to-night.  I'll turn
right about. I don't care a great deal about
seeing my mother."
Though Marco was a very bold and adventurous sort of a boy, still he was not quite prepared for such a proposal as this. In the course
of the conversation the sailor used improper
and violent language too, which Marco did not
like to hear; and, in fact, Marco began to be
a little afraid of his new acquaintance. He
determined, as soon as he got back to the coach
to keep near Forester all the time,. so as not
23
Mfarco declines it.
Marco afraid. 
24        MAI.XITCo   PAUL   IN   \'ERItMONT.
The sailor ilnvites Marco to take a drink.
to be left alone
,::..again with the sail                            or. He  tried to
.~~ <     hasten on, so as to
;1,.'i~- ~  bovertake the coach,
l: j e t i but the sailor told
him not to walk so
fast; and, being un                            willing  to  offend
.~. ~  ~        ~'~ him, he was obliged
v.-to go slowly, and
-_..keep with him; and
thus protracted the
conversation.
About half-way up the hill there was a small
tavern, and the sailor wanted Marco to go in
with him and get a drink. Marco thought that
he meant a drink of water, but it was really a
drink of spirits which was intended. Marco,
however, refused to go, saying that he was not
thirsty; and so they went on up the hill. At
the top of the hill, the stage-coach stopped for
the pedestrians to come up. There was also
another passenger there to get in,-a woman,
who came out from a farm-house near by. The
driver asked the sailor if he was not willing to
ride outside, in order to make room for the new 
J OURNEYING.                 25
The sailor will not ride outside.
p)assenger.  But he would not.  He was afraid.
He said he would not ride five miles outside for
a month's wages. Marco laughed at the sailor's fears, and he immediately asked Forester
to let him ride outside. Forester hesitated, but
on looking up, and seeing that there was a secure seat, with a good place to hold on, he consented. So MIarco clambered up and took his
seat with the driver, while the other passengers
re-established themselves in the sture. 
26    - ARCO PAUL 1IN VERMONT.
bIarco outside.
CHAPTER II.
A C CI D E NT S.
ARCO liked his seat upon the outside of
the stage-coach very much.  He could
see the whole country about him to great advantage. He was very much interested in the
scenery, not having been accustomed to travel
among forests and mountains. The driver was
a rough young man,-for the boy who drove
the coach up to the door was not the regular
driver. He was not disposed to talk much, and
his tone and manner, in what he did say, did
not indicate a very gentle disposition. Marco,
however, at last got a little acquainted with
him, and finally proposed to the driver to let
himi drive.
"Nonsense," said he, in reply, "you are not
big enough to drive such a team as this."
"Why, there was a boy, no bigger than I,
that drove the horses up to the door when we
started, this morning," replied Marco.
"0  yes,-Jerry,"-said the driver,-" but
he'll break his neck one of these days."
Jerry. 
A (,C I D E N T' S.
5dartco's fo)rbearanice.
"I didn't see but that he drove very well,"
said Marco.
The driver was silent.
"Come," persisted Marco, "let me drive a
little way, and I'll do as much for you some
day."
"You little fool," said the driver, "you never
can do any thing for me. You are not big
enough to be of any use at all."
MIarco thought of the fable of the mouse and
the lion, but since his new  companion was in
such ill-humor, he thought he would say no
more to him. A resentful reply to the epithet
" little fool," did in fact rise to his lips, but he
suppressed it and said nothing.
It was fortunate for Marco that he did so.
For whenever any person has said any thing
harsh, unjust, or cruel, the most effectual reply
is, generally, silence.  It leaves the offender to
think of what he has said, and conscience will
often reprove him in silence, far more effectually
than words could do it. This was the ease i-i
this instance. As they rode along in silence,
the echo of the words "little fool," and the tone
in which he had uttered them, lingered upon
the driver's ear. He could not help thinking
227
Marco asks to drive. 
28   1MARCO  PAUL IN VERtMON'T.
Merco drivce.                                  lie succeeds very well.
that he had been rather harsh with his little
passenger.  Presently he said,
"I don't care though,-we are coming to a
level piece of ground on ahead here a little way,
and then I'll see what you can make of team ing."
Marco was quite pleased at this unexpected
result, and after ten or fifteen minutes, they
caine to the level piece of road, and the driver
put the reins into Marco's hand.   Marco had
sometimes driven two horses, when riding out
with his father in a barouche, up the Bloomingdale road in New York.  He was therefore not
entirely unaccustomed to the handling of reins;
and he took them fiom the driver's hand and
imitated the manner of holding them which he
had observed the driver himself to adopt, quite
dexterously.
The horses, in fact, needed very little guidance. They went along the road very quietly
of their own accord. Marco kept wishing that
a wagon or something else would come along,
that he might have the satisfaction of turning
out. But nothing of the kind appeared, and he
was obliged to content himself with turning a
little to one side, to avoid a stone. At the end
of th-e level piece of road there was a tavern.
MIarco drives.
Ile succeeds very well. 
ACCIDENTS.
The tavern.
wvhere they were going to stop, to change the
horses, and Marco asked the driver to let him
turn the horses up to the door.  The driver
consented, keeping a close watch all the time,
ready to seize the reins again at a moment's
notice, if there had been any appearance of difficulty. But there was none. Marco guided
the horses right, and drawing in the reins with
all his strength, he brought them up properly at
the door; or rather, he seemed to do it,-for,
in reality, the horses probably acted as much
of their own accord, being accustomed to stop
at this place, as from any control which Marco
exercised over them through the reins.
There was, however, an advantage in this
evolution, for Marco became accustomed to the
feeling of the reins in his hand, and acquired a
sort of confidence in his power over the horses,
-greater to be sure than there was any just
ground for, but which was turned to a very important account, a few hours afterward, as will
be seen in the sequel.
The sailor went several times into the taverns on the way, in the course of the afternoon,
to drink, until, at length, he became partially
intoxicated. He felt, however, so much restrained in the presence of the passengers with
29 
30    AlAitCO PAUL IN VERMIIONT.
The sailor's drinks.
in the coach, that he did not become talkative
and noisy, as is frequently the case in such circumstances; but was rather stupid and sleepy.
In fact, no one observed that any change was
taking place in his condition, until, at last, as he
was coming out from the door of a tavern,
where he had been in to get another drink, the
driver said,
"Come, Jack, you must get up with me now,
there is another passenger to get in here."
Marco, who was still in his seat, holding the
reins of the horses, looked down, expecting that
the sailor would make objections to this proposal,-but he found, on the contrary, that Jack,
as they called him, acquiesced without making
any difficulty, and allowed the driver to help
him up. The new passenger got inside. Forester felt somewhat uneasy at having Marco
ride any longer on the top, especially now that
the sailor was going up too. But the coach
was full. He himself was wedged into his seat,
so that he could not get out easily. He knew,
too, that two or three of the passengers were
going to get out at the next stage, and so he
concluded to let Marco remain outside until
that time, and then to take him in again.
Marco's admiration for the sail:,rI was very
His  condition. 
ACC II)ENTS.
The sailor ill danger.
much diminished when he saw how helpless he
had rendered himself by his excesses, and how
unceremoniously the driver pulled and hauled
him about, in getting him into his seat.
" There! hold on there," said the driver to
him, in a stern voice,-" hold on well, or you'll
be down head foremost under the horses' heels,
at the first pitch we come to."
The poor sailor said nothing, but grasped an
iron bar which passed from the top of the coach
down by the side of the seat, and held on as
well as he could.
They rode on in this manner for some miles,
the head of the sailor swinging back and forth,
helplessly, as if he was nearly asleep. Whenever Marco or the driver spoke to him, he either
answered in a thick and sleepy tone of voice, or
he did not reply at all. Marco watched him
for a time, being continually afraid that he
would fall off. He could do nothing, however,
to help him, for he himself was sitting at one
end of the seat while the sailor was upon the
other, the driver being between them. In the
mean time the sun gradually went down and
the twilight came on, and as the shadows extended themselves slowly over the landscape,
Marco began to find riding outside less pleasant
31
Evening. 
32    I[ARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Bridge.            A  jolt.           Effects of it,
than it had been before, and he thought that,
on the whole, he should be very glad when the
time arrived for him to get into the coach again,
with his cousin.
At length they came to a bridge, covered
with planks, which led across a small stream.
It was in rather a solitary place, with woods on
each side of the road. Beyond the bridge there
was a level piece of road for a short distance,
and then a gentle ascent, with a farmhouse
near the top of it, on the right hand side of the
road. At the end of the bridge, between the
planks and the ground beyond them, there was
a jolt, caused by the rotting away of a log which
had been imbedded in the ground at the beginning of the planking. As it was rather dark,
on account of the shade of the trees, the driver
did not observe this jolt, and he was just beginning to put his horses to the trot, as they were
leaving the bridge, when the forward wheels
struck down heavily into the hollow, giving the
firont of the coach a sudden pitch forward and
downward. Marco grasped the iron bar at his
end of the seat, and saved himself; and the
driver, who was habitually on his guard, had his
feet so braced against the fender before him,
that he would not have fallen.  But the poor 
A C C I D E N  S.
A fall.
sailor, entirely unprepared for the shock, and
perhaps unable to resist it if he had been prepared, pitched forward, lost his hold, went over
the fender, and  wsas tumbling down, as the
driver had predicted, head foremost, under the
horses' heels.  The driver seized hold of hir
with one hand, but finding this insufficient
dropped his reins and tried to grasp him with
both. In doing it, however, he lost his own
balance and went over too. He, of course, let
go of the sailor, when he found that he was
going himself.   The  sailor fell heavily and
helplessly between the pole and the si(le of one
of the horses, to the ground.   The driver followved.  He seized the pole with one hand, but
was too late to save himself entirely, and thinking there was danger of being dragged, and
finding that the horses were springing forward
in a firight, he let himself drop through to the
gr)?uiid also. The coach passed over them in
a moment, as the horses cantered on.
All this passed in an instant, and Marco, before he had a moment's time for reflection, found
himself alone on his seat,-the driver run over
and perhaps killed, and the horses cantering
away, withl the reins dangling about their heels.
The first impulse, in such a case, would be to
(
33 
T-LE A1CC'IDEN T.
scre-in aloud, in terror,-wvhich would  have
oily made the lhorses r-un the faster.  But Marco \as not very  easily f,N ghteued; at least, he
was not easily made Crazy by fright.  So  ti
did not -crulea'  and niot kinowingii  what else to
do, he sat still  ad did nothina
In the mie ni timre, tlhe r.assenl-s inside ikniew
nothinyg of all this.         (fny  of thIem  had b)een
asleep when thev came over tne bridge.   The
jolt bud arousecd them  a          hittle, but thero w\V 
AcC CID E  TS.              35
Marco's danger.
nothing to indicate to them the accident which
lhad occurred forward, so they quietly adjusted
themselves in their seats, and endeavored to
compose themselves to sleep again.
Tile horses were well trained and gentle.
They cantered on as far as the level ground
extended, and then they slackened their pace
as they began to rise the ascent.  The idea
then occurred to Marco, that perhaps he might
clam-ber down over the fender to the pole, and
then walk along upon that a little way till he
could gather up the reins. Then he thought
that if he could get back again with them to
tile driver's seat, perhaps he could stop the
horses. Marco was an expert climber. He
had learned this art in his gymnasium at New
York; so that he had no fears in respect to his
being able to get down and back again. The
only danger was, lest he might frighten the
horses again and set them to running anew.
After a moment's reflection, he concluded
that at any rate he would try it; so he cautiouslv,tepped over the fender and clambered down.
— %hen his feet reached the pole, he rested them
a moment upon it, and clung with his hands to
the fender and other parts of the front of the
noach.  Hie fi,In,' his positi-)Li here more  an 
36      A I C O  P A U L  IN    VERi  IO N'r.
He clambors down.                              He recovers the reins.
stable than he had expected; for the coach being upon sprirngs, the forward part rose and fell
with many jerks and surges, as the horses traveled swiftly along, while the pole was held in its
position straight and firm.  Thus the different
parts of his body were connected with different
systems of motion, which made his position very
uncomfortable.
HIe found, however, after a moment's pause,
that he could stand, and probably walk upon
the pole; so he advanced cautiously, putting
his hands on the backs of the horses, and wallking along on the pole between them. The
horses were somewhat disturbed by the strange
sensations which they experienced, and begani
to canter again; but Mllarco, who felt more and
more confidence every moment, pushed boldly
on, gathered up the reins, and got all the ends
together.  Then taking the ends of the reins in
one hand, he crept back, supporting himself by
taking hold of the harness of one of the horses
with the other hand. By this means he regained the coach, and then, though with some
difficulty, he clambered up to his seat again.
He then endeavored to stop the horses by
geathering the reins together, and pullilng upon
'herni with al] his strength; but it was in vain.
He clambers dowi-1.
He recovers the reins. 
.. (,C I D E NTS.
p p1ii ill stoplping the horses.
Thle horses had by this time reached a part of
the road where it was more level, and they began to press forward at a more rapid pace.
Alareco thought of calling to Forester to get out
of the window and climb along the side of the
coach to the box, in order to help him; but just
at that moment he saw that they were coming
up opposite to the farm house, which had been
in sight, at a distance, when they were crossing
the bridge.   So  he thought  that  though he
could not stop the horses, he might perhaps
have strength enough to turn them off from the
road into the farmer's yard; and  that then
they could be more easily stopped.   In this he
succeeded.   By pulling the off rein of the leaders wnithl all his strength, he was able to turn
them out of the road.  The pole horses followed as a matter of course, —the coach came up
with a graceful sweep to the farmer's door, and
then the horses were easily stopped.  The farmei came at once to the door, to see what strange
conmpany had come to visit him in the stage,his  wife  following; while  several  children
crowded to the windows.
\Vhat's here?" said a voice from the winc,w of the coach,-" a  )ost-office?"   They
1),
Ile succeeds. 
AlI A J{  P(        W o-f t   I  N     s E  It -I    N'.
Wonder of the passengers.
thought the stage had been driven up to the
loor of some post-office.
Marco did not answer; in fact he was bewildered and confounded at the strangeness of his
situation.  He looked back over the top of the
coach down the road to see what had become
of the driver. To his great joy, he saw him
running up behind the coach, —his hat crushed
out of shape, and his clothes dusty. The passengers looked out at the windows of the stage,
exclaiming,
"Why, driver! what's the matter?"
The driver made no reply. H4e  began to
brush his clothes,-and, taking off his hat, he
attempted to round it out into shape again.
"What is the matter, driver?" said the passengers.
"Nothing," replied he, "only that drunkard
of a sailor tumbled off the stage."
"Where?" " When?" exclaimed half a dozen voices.  "Is he killed?"
"Killed? no," replied the driver; "I don't believe he is even sobered."
Forester and another gentleman then urgently asked where he was, and the driver told
them that he was "back there a piece," as he
expressed it. 
ACCIDENTS.
The driver's charge to Marco.
"What! lying in the road?" said Forester;
"open the door, and let us go and see to him."
"No," said the driver; "he has got off to the
side of the road, safe.  I don't believe he's hurt
any. Let him take care of himself, and we'll
drive on."
But Forester remonstrated strongly against
leaving the poor sailor in such a condition, and
in such a place; and finally it was agreed that
the farmer should go down the road and see to
him, so as to allow the stage-coach with the
passengers to go on.
Forester was not willing, however, to have
Marco ride outside any longer; and so they
contrived to make room for him within.  As
Marco descended from his high seat, the driver
said to him, as he passed him, in a low voice,
"How  did you get the reins?   I thought
they all came down with me, under the horses'
heels."
"Yes," said Marco, "they did, and I climbed
down upon the pole and got them."
" Well," said the driver, " you're  a smart
boy. But don't tell them inside that I tumbled
off. Tell them I gave you the reins, and jumped down to see the sailor."
After receiving this charge, Marco  would
39
The sailor. 
40     iM A R CO  PA U I.  I N  V ER MIONT.
Ilstinctive caution of horses.
have been under a strong temptation to tell a
falsehood, if the company in the coach had
asked him any questions about it. But they
did not. They were so much occupied in expressing their astonishment that the sailor did
not break his neck, that they asked very few
questions, and after riding a short time, they relapsed into silence again.  The fact that both
the driver and the sailor escaped being seriously hurt, was not so wonderful as it might seem.
Horses have generally an instinctive caution
about not stepping upon any thing under their
feet. If a little child were lying asleep in the
middle of a road, and a horse were to come
galloping along without any rider, the mother,
who should see the sight from the window of
the house, would doubtless be exceedingly terrified; but in all probability the horse would
pass the child without doing it any injury. He
would leap over it, or go around it, as he would
if it were a stone. This is one reason why, in
so many cases, persons are run over without
being hurt. The driver and the sailor, however, fell rather behind the horses' heels, and
escaped them in that way, and they came down
so exactly into the middle of the road, that they 
'),im1h road.                   Caution to travelers.
were out of the way of the track of the wheels,
and thus they escaped serious injury.
The misfortunes of the evening, however, did
not end here. The road was rather rough, and
there were many ruts and joltings; and one or
two of the passengers seemed to feel some fear
lest the stage should upset. One, who sat near
the door, put his arm out at the window over
the door, so as to get his hand upon the handle
of the catch, in order, as he said, to be ready to
open the door and spring out, at a moment's
warning. The gentleman on the back seat advised him not to do it.
"If you have your arm out," said he, "the
coach may fall over upon it, and break it.
That's the way people get hurt by the upsetting
of coaches, by thrusting out their legs and arms
in all directions, when they find they are going
)ver, and thus get them broken. You ought to
old your arms and draw in your feet, and when
Lou find that we are going over, go in an easy
Attitude, with all the muscles relaxed, as if your
body was a bag of corn."
The passenger laughed and took his arm in;
and all the other passengers, seeing that the advice of the gentleman was reasonable, concluded to follow it if they should have occasion.
ACCIDENT.
41 
13   NIIAR('O PAUL IN VERI'MONT.
Danger.                                               Coach upset.
And they did have occasion sooner than they
had expected.  For, just after dark, as they
wxvere going down a long hill at a pretty rapid
rate, with a wagon a short distance before
them, one of the horses of the wagon stumbled
and fell, which brought the wagon to a sudden
stand just before the coach.  The driver perceived in an instant that there was not time to
stop his horses, and that the only chance was
to turn out of the road and drive by. The
ground at the road-side was so much inclined,
that he was almost afraid to venture this expedient, but he had no time for thought. He
wheeled his horses out,-just escaped the hind
wheel of the wagon- ran along by the roadside a short distance, with the wheels on one
side, down very near the gutter, —and then, just
as he was coming back safely into the road
again, the forward wheel nearest the middle of
the road, struck a small stone, and threw the
coach over. The top rested upon the bank, and
the horses were suddenly stopped. Sometimes,
on such occasions, the transom bolt, as it is
called, that is, the bolt by which the forward
wheels are fastened to the carriage, comes out,
and the horses run off with the wheels. It did
not come out in this case, however. The man
Daniger.
Coach upset. 
C C I ) E N'1 S.
Foolish fears.
who had put his arm out of the window, immediately called out, in great alarm, "Hold the
horses!  Hold  the horses!  Don't  let the
horses run and drag us." But this vociferation
was needless.  A coach full of passengers and
baggage is a full load for four horses, when it
is mounted on wheels. It would require an exertion far beyond their strength to drag it when
on its side.  The horses remained quiet, therefore, while the wagoner and the driver, who
was not hurt, opened the door in the upper side
of the coach.  The passengers then climbed
out, one by one, without injury. Mary Williams came out last, with her orange-tree safe
in her hand.
,t 3 
44   MARCo PAULIJ IN VAIRMONT.
Large farmhouse.
CHAPTER III.
THE GRASS COUNTRY.
HE  scene of confusion, produced by the
double accident described in the last chapter, was great, but not long continued. The
wagoner got his fallen horse up, and then the
passengers, with the driver and wagoner, all
taking hold together, soon righted the stage.
None of the passengers were  hurt, but the
coach itself was so much injured that the driver
thought it was not safe to load it heavily again.
The female passengers got in, but the men
walked along by the side of it, intending to
travel in that way about four miles to the next
tavern. Forester, however, was not inclined
to take so long a walk. Fortunately, at a small
distance before them, was a farmhouse which
looked as if it belonged to a large and thrifty
farmer. The great barns and sheds, the neat
yards, the well-built walls and fences, and the
large stock of cattle in the barn-yard, indicated
wealth and prosperity. Forester concluded to
a,)lv here for a lodging for the night, for hin 
THE GRASS COUNTRY.
P~~~~~~~~~an~~~~~~~~~~~~~            The room.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
self and Marco.  The farmer was very willing
to receive them.  So the driver took off their
trunks, and then the stage-coach, with the rest
of the passengers, went on.
" Howv long shall we have to stay here?"
asked Marco.
Only till to-morrow," said Forester.  "Another stage will come along to-morrow. We
can stop just as well as not, as we are in no
haste to get home. Besides, I should like to
have you see something of the operations of a
great grass farm."
Marco and Forester went into the house, and
were ushered into a large room, which seemed
to be both sitting-room and kitchen.  A large
round table was set in the middle of the floor,
for supper. A monstrous dog was lying under
it, wnith his chin resting upon his paws.  There
was a great settle in one corner, by the side of
the fire.  There were chairs also, with straight
backs and seats of basket-work, a spinningwheel, an open cupboard, and various other
similar objects, which, being so different from
the articles of furniture which Marco had been
accustomed to see in the New York parlors,
attracted his attention very strongly. Marco
went and took his seat upon the settle, and the
45
Plans.
The rooiii. 
4   6M ArCO PAUL IN  VERMOIrayT.
Marco and the d(log.
dog rose and came to him. The dog gazed into
his face with an earnest look of inquiry, which
plainly said, " Who  are you?" while  Marco
patted him on the head, thereby answering as
plainly, "A  friend."  The dog, perfectly understanding the answer, seemed satisfied, and,
turning away, went back to his place again
under the table.
One of the farmer's younng men carried the
trunks into a little bed-room, which opened front
the great room; and then the farmer sat down
EHO ARE YOU? 
THiLE GR ASS CoUN''RY.          4
Ar1]goIilei1ts for the night.                              The hod-morn.
and began to enter into conversation with Forester and Marco about their accident.  Forester told him also about the sailor, who had
tumbled off the coach a mile or two back, and
been left behind. Forester said that he should
like to know whether he was hurt much.  Then
the farmer said that he would let him take a
horse and wagon the next morning and ride
back and inquire.  This plan was  therefore
agreed upon. Marco and Forester ate a good
supper with the farmer's family, and then spent
the evening in talking, and telling stories about
horses, and sagacious dogs, and about catching
wild animals in the woods with traps.  About
nine o'clock the family all assembled for evening prayers.  After prayers Marco and Forestel
went to bed in their little bed-room, where they
slept soundly till morning.
In the morning they were both awakened byr
the crowing of the cocks, at an early hour.
Thley also heard movements in the house and
in the yard before sunrise; so they arose and
dressed themselves, and after attending to their
morning devotions together in their room, t
duty which Forester never omitted, they went
out.  Marco was very much interested in the
morning oclinations of the farm.  Tihere was
47
for the night.
The bedroom. 
48    MARCO  PAUL  IN  VEat
The farm-yard.
the milking of the cows, and the feeding of the
various animals, and the pitching off a load of
corn, which had been got in the evening before
and allowed to stand on the cart, on the barnfloor, over night. The cows were then to be
driven to pasture, and the boy who went with
them, took a bridle to catch a horse for Forester and MIarco to have for their ride. Forester
and MIareo went with him.  It was only a short
walk to the pasture bars, but they had to ramble
about a little while, before they found the horses.
At last they found them feeding together at the
edge of a grove of trees. There were two or
three horses, and several long-tailed colts. The
boy caught one of the horses, which he called
Nero. Nero was a white horse. Marco
mounted him and rode down, with the other
horses and the colts following him. They put
the horse in the stable until after breakfast, and
then harnessed him into the wagon. When all
was ready, the farmer told them to bring the
sailor along with them to his house, if they
found that he was hurt so that he could not
travel.
When  they were seated in the wagon, and
had fairly commenced their ride, Marco asked
Forester, vwh-at he meant last evening by a grass
Catching the horses. 
THE GRASS CO UN TRY.
farm.  "You  told me," said he, "that you
wanted me to see a great grass farm."
"Yes," replied Forester.   " The farms in this
part of the United States may be called grass
farms.  This is the grass country."
"Isn't it all grass country?" asked Marco.
"Grass grows everywhere."
"Grass is not cultivated everywhere so much
as it is among the mountains, in the northern
states," replied Forester.   " The great articles
of cultivation in the United States are grass,
grain, and cotton. The grass is cultivated in
the northern states, the grain in the middle
states, and the cotton in the southern states.
Thie grass is food for beasts, the grain is food
for man, and the cotton is for clothing. These
different kinds of cultivation are not indeed exclusive in the different districts. Some grass is
raised in the middle and southern states, and
some grain is raised in the northern states; but,
in general, the great agricultural production of
the northern states is grass, and these farms
among the mountains in Vermont are grass
farms.
"There is one striking difference," continued
Forester, " between the grass farms of the
north, and the grain farms of the middle states,
D
49
A grass farm.
Uses of grass. 
50   MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Cultivation of grass.                                    Grass and cotton.
or the cotton plantations of the south.  The
grass cultivation brings with it a vast variety
of occupations and processes on the farm,
making the farm a little world by itself; whereas
the grain and the cotton cultivation are far
more simple, and require much less judgment
and skill. This is rather remarkable; for one
would think that raising food for beasts would
require less skill than raising food or clothes for
man.
"I should have thought so," said Marco.
"The reason for the difference is," replied
Forester, "that in raising food for animals, it is
necessary to keep the animals to eat it, on the
spot, for it will not bear transportation."
"Why not?" said Marco.
"Because it is so cheap," replied Forester.
"I don't think that is any reason," replied
Marco.
"A load of grass"- said Forester.
"A load of grass!" repeated Marco, laughing.
"Yes, dried grass, that is, hay.  Hay, you
know, is grass dried to preserve it."
"Very well," said Marco; "go on."
"A load of grass, then, is so cheap, that the
cost of hauling it fifty miles would be more than
it is worth. But cotton is worth a great deal
Cultivation of grass.
Grass and cotton. 
TIE GRASS COUN TRY. 
Transportation.
more, in proportion to its bulk.  It can therefore be transported to distant places to be sold
and manufactured. Thus the enormous quantity of cotton which grows every summer in
the southern states, is packed in bags, very
tight, and is hauled to the rivers and creeks,
and there it is put into steamboats and sent to
the great seaports, and at the seaports it is put
into ships, which carry it to England or to the
northern states, to be manufactured; and it is
so valuable, that it will bring a price sufficient
to pay all the persons that have been employed
in raising it, or in transporting it.  But the
grass that grows in the northern countries can
not be transported. The mnills for manufacturing cotton may be in one country, and the cotton be raised in another, and then, after the
cotton is gathered, it may be packed and sent
thousands of miles to be manufactured. But
the sheep and oxen which are to eat the hay,
can not be kept in one country, while the grass
which they feed upon grows in another. The
animals must live, in general, on the verv farm
which the grass grows upon. Thus, while the
cotton cultivator has nothing to do but to raise
his cotton and send it to market, the grass cul!ivato  l must not only raise his gr'ass, but lie
51 
52   MARcO PAUL IN VERMON''.
Northern and southern states.
must provide fobr and take care of all the animals
which are to eat it. This makes the agriculture of the northern states a far more complicated business, because the care of animals run.~
into great detail, and requires great skill, and
sound judgment, and the exercise of constant
discretion.
You observe," continued Forester, "that
it is by the intervention of animals that the farmer gets the product of his land into such a
shape that it will bear transportation. For instance, he feeds out his hay to his sheep, attending them with care and skill all the winter.
In the spring he shears off their fleeces; and
now he has got something which he can send
to market.  He has turned his grass into wool,
and thus got its value into a much more
compact form. The wool will bear transportation.  Perhaps he gave a whole load of hay
to his sheep, to produce a single bag of wool.
So the bag of wool is worth as much as the
load of hay, and is very much more easily carried to markaet.  He  can put it upon his lumber-box, and drive off fifty miles with it, to
market, without any difficulty."
" His lumber-box?" asked Marco.   "W h. at
is that?"
Wool. 
TH E  G RAss  Co t, N''R Y.
Lumber-boxes.
"Didn't you ever see a lumber-box?" asked
Forester.' It is a
:quare box, on run-.      i_
ners, like those of 
A sleigh.  The far-i
mers have them
to haul their produce to market."
Why  do they
call it a lumberbox?" asked Ma-/
co.
"W Thy, when the                           -
country was  first           l LUMBER-X.
settled, they used
to carry lumber to market principally; that is,
bundles of shingles and clapboards, which they
made from timber cut in the woods.  It requires
some time for a new farm, made in the forests,
to get into a condition to produce much grass
for cattle.  I suppose that it was in this way
that these vehicles got the name of lumberboxes. You will see a great many of them, in
ihe winter season, coming down from every
part of the country, toward the large towns oi
the rivers, filled with produce."
53 
.54    MAI',PCO  PAUL IN VEI,MON T.
Boef.                   Gojug to market.                   Drovers.
"What else do the farmers turn their grass
into, besides wool?" asked Marco.
"Into beef," said Forester.   "They  raise
cows and oxen. They let them eat the grass
as it grows, all summer, and in the winter they
feed them with what they have cut and dried
and stored in the barn for them. The farmers
are all ambitious to cut as much hay as they
can, and to keep a large stock of cattle. Thus
they turn the grass into beef, and the beef can
be easily transported.  In fact, it almost transports itself."
"How do you mean?" asked Marco.
"Why, the oxen and cows, when they are fat
and ready for market, walk off in droves to
Boston, to be killed.   They don't kill them
where they are raised, for then they would have
to haul away the beef in wagons or sleighs, but
make the animals walk to market themselves,
and kill them there. But the farmers don't
generally take their own cattle to market. Men
go about the country, and call upon the fariners, and buy their cattle, and thus collect
great droves. These men are called drovers,
In traveling in this part of the country, late in
the fall, vou would see great droves of cattle
Beef.
Going to market.
Drovers. 
T HE   GRAS S CoUNT R Y.
Brighton market.                        Horses.
and sheep, passing along the road, all going to
Boston, or rather Brighton."
"Where is Brighton?" asked Marco.
"It is a town very near Boston, where the
great cattle market is held. The Boston dealers come out to Brighton, and buy the cattle,
and have them slaughtered, and the beef packed
and sent away all over the world. Thus the
farmers turn the grass into beef, and in that
shape it can be transported and sold."
"And what else?" asked Marco.
Why, they raise a great many horses in
Vermont," replied Forester. " These horses
live upon grass, eating it as it grows in the
pastures and on the mountains, in the summer,
and being fed upon hay in the barn in the winter. These horses, when they are four or five
years old, are sent away to market to be sold.
They can be transported very easily. A man
will ride one, and lead four or five by his side.
They will be worth perhaps seventy-five dollars
apiece; so that one man will easily take along
with him, three or four hundred dollars' worth
of the produce of the farm, in the shape of
horses; whereas the hay which had been consumed on the farm to make these horses, it
would have taken forty yoke of oxen to move."
55 
56  MARCO  PAUL IN VERMONTr.
Vermont horses.                    Care of animals.
"Forty yoke!" repeated Marco.
"I don't mean to be exact," said Forester.
' I mean it would take a great many. So that,
by feeding his hay out to horses, the farmer
gets his produce into a better state to be transported to market. The Vermont horses go all
over the land. Thus you see that the farmers
in tihe grass country have to turn the vegetable
products which they raise, into animal products,
before they can get them to market; and as
the rearing of animals is a work which requires
a great deal of attention, care, patience, and
skill, the cultivators must be men of a higher
class than those which are employed in raising
cotton, or even than those who raise grain.
The animals must be watched and guarded
while they are young. There are a great many
different diseases, and accidents, and injuries
which they are exposed to, and it requires constant watchfulness, and considerable intelligence, to guard against them. This makes a
great difference in the character which is required in the laborers, in the different cases.
A cotton plantation in the south can be cultivated by slaves. A grain farm in the middle
states can be worked by hired laborers; but a
northern grass farm, with all its oxen, cows. 
THE GRASS COUNTRY.
ctivation of ootton.                                      The planter.
sheep, poultry, and horses, can only be successfully managed by the work of the owner."
"Is that the reason why they have slaves at
the south?" asked Marco.
"It is a reason why slaves can be profitable
at the south.  In cultivating cotton or sugar, a
vast proportion of all the work done in the year
is the same.  Almost the whole consists of a
few simple processes, such as planting, hoeing,
picking cotton, &c., and this is to be performed
on smooth, even land, where set tasks can be
easily assigned. But the work on a grass farm
is endlessly varied. It would not be possible to
divide it into set tasks.  And then it is of such
a nature, that it could not possibly be performed
successfully by the mere labor of the hands.
The mind must be employed upon it. For instance, even in getting in hay, in the summer
season, the farmer has to exercise all his judgment and discretion to avoid getting it wet by
the summer showers, and yet to secure it in
good time, and with proper dispatch. A cotton
planter may hire an overseer to see to the getting in of his cotton, and he can easily tell by
the result, whether he has been faithful or not.
But hay can not be got in well, without the
activity, and energy, and good judgment, which
57
Cultivation of cotton.
The planter. 
58  WMARCO PAIJL IN VERMONT.
Large grass farms.
can come only from the presence and immediate supervision of an owner. This produces
vast differences in the nature of the business,
and in the whole state of society in the two regions."
"What are the differences?" asked Marco.
Why,  in the first place," said Forester,
"the fact that cotton and sugar can be cultivated by hired overseers, with slaves to do the
work, enables rich men to carry on great plantations without laboring themselves. But a
great grass farm could not be managed so. A
man may have one thousand acres for his plantation at the south, and with a good overseer
and good hands, it will all go on very well, so
far as his profit is concerned. They will produce a great amount of cotton, which may be
sent to market and sold, and the planter realize
the money, so as to make a large profit after
paying all his expenses. But if a man were to
buy a thousand acres of grass land, and employ
an overseer and slaves to cultivate it, every
thing would go to ruin. The hay would get
wet and spoiled,-the carts, wagons, and complicated tools necessary, would get broken to
pieces,-the lambs would be neglected and die,
and the property would soon go to destruction. 
TIr H  GRASs Co UN TRY.
Mr. \Varner's farm.                                           Difficulties.
Even when a rich man attempts to carry on a
moderate farm by hired laborers, taking the
best that he can find, he seldom succeeds."
Does he ever succeed?" said Marco.
"Yes," replied Forester," sometimes. There
is Mr. Warner, who lives near my father's; he
was brought up on a farm, and is practically
acquainted with all the work. He has been
very successful, and has a very large farm.
He works now very little himself, but he
watches every thing with the greatest care, and
he succeeds very well. He has a great stock.
He cuts fifty tons of hay."
"I should like to see his farm," said Marco.
We'll go some day," replied Forester.
"So you see," continued Forester, "that the
work of a cotton or sugar plantation, is comparatively simple and plain, requiring little
judgment or mental exertion, and a great deal
of plain straightforward bodily labor; while on
a northern stock farm the labors are endlessly
varied. Every month, every week, and almost
every day brings some change. New emergencies are constantly arising, which call for
deliberation and judgment. It is necessary to
have a great variety of animals, in order to
consume all the different productions of the
59
M,r.:Varnier's farm.
Difficultics. 
t)O   MARCO PAUL IN VERMON1.
Nero.                                      The sailor.
fiarm to advantage. I can explain it all to you
b)etter, when you come to see Mr. Warner's
farm."
As Nero traveled very fast, they began by
this time to draw near to the place where they
had left the sailor.  When  they came up to
the house, they fastened the horse to a post, and
went in. The man who lived there had gone
away, but the woman said that the sailor was
somewhat hurt, and asked them to come in and
see him. They found him in the kitchen, with
his foot up in a chair. He seemed to be in
some pain. There was a great bruise on his
ankle, made by the cork of one of the horses'
shoes. These corks, as they are called, are
projections, made of steel, at the heel of a
horse-shoe, to give the horse a firm footing.
They are made quite sharp in the winter season, when  there is ice and  snow upon the
ground, but they are generally more blunt in
the summer. This prevented the ankle's being
cut as badly as it would have been, if the corks
had been sharper. Forester looked at the ankle,
and found that nothing had been done for it. It
was inflamed and painful. He got the woman
to give him a basin of warm water, and then
he bathed it very carefully, which relieved the 
THE GRASS COUNTRY.
Forester's treatment of the foot.
sense of tension and pain. Then he made an
ointment of equal parts of tallow and oil, which
he put upon the end of a bandage, and thus
bound it up. This treatment relieved the poor
sailor very much. Then Forester proposed to
the sailor to get into the wagon and go with
him to the next house, and the sailor consented.
Forester was then going to pay the woman for
his night's lodging, but the sailor said at once,
"No, squire, not at all.  I'm much obliged
to you for doing up my foot, but you need not
pay any thing for me. I've got plenty of shot
in the locker."
So saying, he put his hand in his pocket and
drew out a handful of gold and silver pieces.
But the woman, who began now to feel a little
ashamed that she had not done something for
the wounded foot, said he was welcome to his
lodging; and so they all got into the wagon,
and Nero carried them rapidly back to his
master's.
61 
(]2   2,.A1t}C0O PAURL IN XvERIMIONT.
Forestet's home.                                                      The valley.
CHAPTER IV.
THE VILLAGE.
N due time, and without any farther adven    ture, Forester and Marco arrived at the
end of their journey. The village where Forester's father lived was situated in a gorge of
the mountains, or rather at the entrance of a
valley, which terminated at last in a gorge.
There was a river flowing through this valley,
and the village was upon its banks. At the upper end of the village a branch stream came in
from the north, and there was a dam upon it,
with some mills. The river itself was a rapid
stream, flowing over a sandy and gravelly bottom, and there were broad intervals on each
side of it, extending for some distance toward
the higher land. Beyond these intervals, the
land rose gradually, and in an undulating manner, to the foot of the mountains, which extended along the sides of the valley, and from
the summits of which, one might look down
upon the whole scene, with the village in the
center of it. as upon a map. 
THE VILLAGE.
Yards and gardens.                                           The nifice.
Marco was very much pleased with the situation, and with the appearance of the village.
The street was broad, and it was shaded with
rows of large maples and elms on each side.
The houses were generally white, with green
blinds. Most of them had pleasant yards before them and at their sides; these yards were
planted with trees and shrubbery. There were
also gardens behind. The mountains which
surrounded the scene, gave a very secluded and
sheltered appearance to the valley.
The house in which Forester lived was the
largest in the village. It was a square house
of two stories. It stood back a little from the
road, in the middle of a large yard, ornamented
with rows of trees along the sides, and groups
of shrubbery in the corners and near the house.
There were gravel walks leading in different
directions through this yard, and on one side
of the house was a carriage-way, which led
from a great gate in front, to a door in one end
of the house, and thence to the stable in the
rear. On the other side of the house, near the
street, was the office,-for Forester's father was
a lawyer. The office was a small square building, with the lawyer's name over the door.
Thlere was a back door to the office. and a foot
63
Yards and gardens.
The office. 
64    MARCO  PAUL  IN VERMONT.
The village.
path, winding among trees and shrubbery,
which led from the office to the house.
The morning after they arrived, Forester
took Marco out to see the village.  He intended not only to show him the various objects of
interest which were to be seen, but also to explain to him why it was that such villages
would spring up in a farming country, and what
were the occupations of the inhabitants.
"The first thing which causes the commencement of a village in New England," said Forester, "is a water-fall."
"Why is that?" asked Marco.
There are certain things," replied Forester,
"which the farmers can not very well do for
themselves, by their own strength, particularly
grinding their corn, and sawing logs into boards
for their houses. When they first begin to settle in a new country, they make the houses of
logs, and they have to take the corn and grain
a great many miles on horseback, through paths
in the woods, or, in the winter, on handsleds, to get it ground. But as soon as any
of them are able to do it, they build a dam on
some stream in the neighborhood, where there
is a fall in the water, and thus get a water
-.owel. This water power they employ, to turn 
T I E VILLAGE.
Origin of villages.
a saw-mill and a grist-mill. Then all the farmers, when they want to build houses or barns,
haul logs to the mill to get them sawed into
boards, and they carry their grain to the gristmill and get it ground.   They pay  the owner
of the mills for doing this workli for themrn. And
thus, if there are a great many farms in the
country around, and no other mills very near,
so that the mills are kept all the time at work,
the owner gets a great deal of pay, and gradually acquires property.
"Now, as soon as the mills are built, perhaps
a blacksmith sets up a shop near them. If a
blacksmith is going to open a shop anywhere
in that town, it will be better for him to have it
near the mills, because, as the farmers all have
to come to the mills at any rate, they can avail
themselves of the opportunity, to get their
horses shod, or to get new tires to their wheels,
when they are broken."
"Tires?"  repeated  Marco.   "What  are
tires?"
"They are the iron rims around wheels.
Every wheel must have an iron band about it,
very tight, to strengthen it and to hold it firmly
together. Without a tire, a wheel would very
E
65
shrills. 
66   MARCO PAUL, IN VFRMONT.
The blacksmith's shop.                                  Wood work
i
soon come to pieces, in rattling over a stony
road.
"Besides," continued Forester, "there is a
great deal of other iron work, which the farmers
must have done.   Farmers  can, generally, do
most of the wood work which they want themselves. They can make their rakes, and drags,
and cart-bodies, and sleds, and tool handles; but
when they want iron work, they must go to the
blacksmith's. They can make a harrow-frame,
but the blacksmith must make the teeth."
"Now I should think," said Marco, "that it
would be easier to make the teeth than the
frame."
"Perhaps it is as easy, if one has the forge
and tools," replied Forester; "but the tools and
fixtures, necessary for blacksmith's work, are
much more expensive than those required for
ordinary wood work. There must be a forge
built on purpose, and an anvil, supported on a
solid foundation, and various tools. All these
are necessary for shoeing a single horse, and
when they are all procured, they will answer
for all the horses of the neighborhood.   Thus
it happens, that though farmers do a great deal
of their wood work themselves, at their own
farms, in cold and stormy weather, they gener
Wood work
The blacksmith's shop. 
THE VILLAGE.
Iron work.                                             An operation.
ally have their iron work done at a blacksmith's
at some central place, where it is easy and convenient for all of them to go."
The above conversation took place between
Marco and Forester, as they were walking
along together through the village, toward the
part of the town where the mills were situated.
Just at this moment, Marco happened to cast
his eyes across the street a short distance before them, and he saw a fire on the ground in a
little yard. He asked Forester what that fire
could be. As soon as Forester saw the fire, he
exclaimed,
"Ah! they are putting a tire upon a wheel;
that's quite fortunate; we'll go across and see
them."
So they left the path under the trees where
they had been walking, and went obliquely
across the street toward the fire. Marco saw
that there was a large blacksmith's shop there.
It was a very neat-looking building, painted red.
There was a large door in the front, and a very
low window, with a shutter hanging over it, by
the side of the door. In an open yard, by the
side of the shop, was the fire. The fire was in
the form of a ring. There were several men
standing about it; one of them, whom Marco
67
Iron work.
An operation. 
(;68   MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
The round tire.           Tires.          Philosophy of tiring a wheel.
supposed was the blacksmith, by his leather
apron, was putting on small sticks of wood and
chips, here and there, around the ring. Marco
saw that there was a large iron hoop, as he called it, on the fire. It was not really a hoop, it
was a tire. It was made of a much larger and
thicker bar of iron, than those which are used
for hoops. It was a tire belonging to a wheel.
The wheel was lying upon the ground near,
ready to receive the tire. It was the hind
wheel of a wagon.   The  wagon itself was
standing in front of the shop, with one end of
the hind axletree supported by a block.
"What do they heat the tire for?" asked
Marco.
"To swell it," replied Forester.  "It is necessary to have the tire go on very tight, so as
to hold the wheel together with allthe force of
the iron. Now when iron is heated it swells,
and then shrinks again when it cools. So they
heat the tire hot, and put it upon the wheel in
that state. Then when it cools it shrinks, and
binds the whole wheel together with a very
strong grip."
"But if they put it on hot, it will burn the
wood," said Marco.
" Yes," replied Forester, "it will burn the
I
-1 
THE  VILLAGE.                 69
Fellies.                         Putting on the tire.
wood a little. They call not help that entirely;
but they stand ready with water, to pour on, as
soon as the tire is in its place, and so cool it
immediately, so that it does not burn the fellies
enough to injure them."
" WVhat are the fellies?" asked Marco.
"They are the parts of the wooden rim of the
wheel. The rim is made of several pieces of
wood, which are called fellies."
So Forester took Marco to the wheel, and
showed him the parts of which the rim was
composed. While Marco was looking at the
wheel, the blacksmith began to push away the
burning brands a little from the tire, as it began
to be hot enough. Presently he went into his
shop and brought out several pairs of tongs.
With these the men lifted the tire out of the
fire, but the blacksmith said it was a little too
hot, and he must let it cool a minute or two.
"Why, if it's very hot," said Marco, "it will
grip the wheel all the harder."
"It will grip it too hard," said Forester.
"Sometimes a tire shrinks so much as to
spring the spokes out of shape.   Didn't you
ever see a wheel with the spokes bent out of
shape?" 
70 M( ARCo  PAUL IN VE  MONI'.
Benlding the spokes.
"I don't know," said Marco.   "I never noticed wheels much."
" They do get bent, sometimes," said Forester.
"It requires great care to put on a tire in such
a manner, as to give it just the right degree of
force to bind the wheel strongly together without straining it."
As soon as the tire became of the right temperature, the men took it up again with the
pairs of tongs-taking hold Nwith them at differ
I
THE TIRE. 
TiHE VILLAGE.
The tire hot.                    Water.
ent sides of it-and then they put it down carefully over the wheel. The wheel immediately
began to smoke on all sides. In one or two
places it burst into a flame. The blacksmith,
however, paid no attention to this, but with a
hammer, which he held in his hand, he knocked
it down into its place, all around the rim; then
he took up a brown pitcher full of water, which
was standing near, and began to pour the
water on, walking round and round the wheel
as he did it, so as to extinguish the flames in
every part and cool the iron. When this process was completed, Forester and Marco walked
On.
"Let me see," said Forester, "where did I
leave off, Marco, in my account of the growth
of a village? I was telling you about the blacksmith's shop, I believe."
"Yes," said Marco.
"The next thing to the blacksmith's shop, in
the history of a New England village," said
Forester, "is generally a store.  You see the
farmers can not raise every thing they want.
There are a great many things which come
fromn foreign countries, which they have to
buy."
"Such as sugar and tea," said Marco.
71
The store. 
72    MA.RCo PAUL IN VE:I.10o'1'T.
Maklg sugatr.
"Yes," replied Forester, "only they make a
great deal of sugar in Vermont out of the sap
of the maple-tree.   We  will go and see MIr.
iVarner's sugar bush next spring. But there
are a great many things which the farmers must
buy. One of the most important articles is iron.
Now when a man concludes to open a store,
the best place that he can have for his business
is near the mills and the blacksmith's shop; because the people have to come there on other
business, and so that is the most convenient
place for them to visit his store. And so, by
and by, when a carpenter and a mason come
into the country, the little village which has
thus begun to form itself, is the best place for
themn to settle in, for that is the place where
people can most conveniently call and see them.
After a while a physician comes and settles
there, to heal them when they are sick, and a
lawyer to prevent disputes."
"To prevent disputes!" said Marco.  Marco
bad not much idea of the nature of a lawyer's
business, but he had a sort of undefined and
vague notion, that lawyers made disputes
among men, and lived by them.
"Why,  I know,"  said Forester, laughing,
"that lawyers have not the credit, generally, of
The store.
The physician.
I 
TH~ E ILL AGE.              73
Lawyers.       l'orester's opinion.    The (lam.
)reventing many disputes, but I believe they
do. Perhaps it is because I am going to be a
lawyer myself. But I really believe that lawyers prevent ten disputes, where they occasion
one."
"How do they do it?" asked Marico.
"W\hy, they make contracts, and draw up
writings, and teach men to be clear and distinct in their engagements and bargains. Then
besides, when men will not pay their debts, they
comnpel them to do it, by legal process. And
there are a vast many debts which are paid, foi
fear of this legal process, which would not have
been paid without it. Thus, knowing that the
lawyers are always ready to apply the laws,
men are much more careful not to break them,
than they otherwise would be. So that it is no
doubt vastly for the benefit of a community,
not only to have efficient laws, but efficient
lawyers to aid in the execution of them."
By this time, Forester and Marco had reached the part of the village where the mills were
situated. Forester showed Marco the dam. It
was supported by ledges of rocks on each bank,
and there was a flume, which conducted the
water to the wheels of the mills.  There were
two  mills and a machine-shop.   They  went
THE   Y~'ILLAGE. 
74   MA(,Co PAUfI IN VERIONTr.
Tie lathe.                          The mill-pond.
;nto the machine-shlop. There was a lathe here
carried by water. A man was at work at it,
turning hoe handles. Forester asked him what
other articles were turned there; and he said
posts for bedsteads, and rounds for chairs, and
such other things as were used in quantities in
that part of the country. Forester asked him
whether the lathe would turn brass and iron as
well as wood; but he said it would not. It was
not fitted for that work.
"I suppose you might have a lathe here, to
work in the metals," said Forester.
"Yes," replied the man, "but it would not
be worth while. There is very little of that
kind of worli wanted ill this part of the country."
After looking at the mills, Forester and Marco walked along up the stream a little way, to
look at the mill-pond.   Whenever a dam is
made, it causes a pond to be formed above it,
more or less extensive, according to the nature
of the ground. In this case there was quite a
large pond, formed by the accumulation of the
water above the dam. The pond was not very
wide, but it extended more than a mile up the
stream. The banks were picturesque and beautiful, being overhung with trees in some places,
I 
TIIE  \VILLAGE.
An exploring expedition.
and ill others presenting verdant slopes, down
to the \vater's edge.
"That's a good pond to go a-fishing in," said
Miarco.
"Yes," said Forester, " and  it makes fine
skating ground in the winter."
Marco and Forester followed the banks of
the mill-pond, until they came to the end of the
still water; beyond that they saw a rapid running stream, conming down fromnt the mountains.
.,Iarco wished to follow this stream up farther,
to see what they would come to, and Forester
consented.  The ground ascended more and
more the farther they proceeded, and the view
began to be shut in by forests, precipices and
mountains.  Marco liked clambering over the
rocks, and he found a great deal to interest
him at every step of the way. He saw several
squirrels and one rabbit. He wanted Forester
to get him a gun and let him  come  out into
those woods a-gunning.
"No," said Forester.
"Why not?" asked M5arco.
"That is dangerous amusement."
\Vhy? Do you think I should get killed
with my gun?" asked Mvarco.
No," replied Forester, "I don't thitik yon
75 
76  NMARCO o                 PA   
Ta.king, risks.
would; but you might get killed.   The risk
would be too great for the benefit."
"Why, you told me  the other day, that it
was a great thing to learn to take risks coolly.
If I had a gun I could practice and learn."
"Yes," said Forester, "it is well to take risks
coolly, when the advantage is sufficient to justify it. For instance, when you crept down
upon the pole the other day, to get the reins,
you took a great risk, but perhaps you saved
the lives of the passengers by it.  That was
right-but to hazard your life, for the sake of
the pleasure of shooting a squirrel, is not wise."
Marco had before this time told him about his
getting the reins.
"  shouldn't think there was much danger,"
said Marco.
" No," said Forester, " there's very little danger. In using a gun, you put yourself in a very
little danger of a very great calamity. There's
very little probability that your gun would
burst, or that you would ever shoot accidentally
any other person;-very little indeed.  But if
the gun were to burst, and blow ofl one of your
arms, or put out your eyes, or if you were to
shoot another boy, the calamity would be a very
terrible one.  So we call it a great risk."
U L I N V E R.,Nl 0 iV'l'.
Differei-it kiiids of ri,,:kg. 
T i E VI.AGE. 1.
The log.
"It seems to be a small risk of a great caiamity," said MAiarco.
"Yes," replied Forester, "but we  call it a
great risk.  WVe call the risk great, when either
the evil which we are in danger of is great, or
Nwhen the chance of its befalling us is great.
For example, if you and I were to walk over
that log which lies across the stream, we should
rIun a great risk; but that would be, not a small
chance of a great evil, but a great chance of a
stnail evil.  There would  be a great chance
that wne should fall off into the stream; but that
would not be much of an evil as we should only
get ourselves wet."
Let us go and              ~   \-,,4: 
try it," said Marco.
mNot I,"  said
Foriester.   "Yo  u  
iay, however,  if
you please. I am
wvilling, to have you
take  such  a risk
as that, for  youriamusement."
Marco went to
the log, and walked
back   and   forth
across it, as COno
77 
I,'            [ AR  ('o    PA  t; I,   I N    V1    a    C) N
i arc' s,'xterity.
posedlv as if it were a broad plank, lying upon
the ground. Finally, he hopped across it on one
foot, to show Forester his dexterity.  Forester
was surprised.   He did not knowv how much
skill in such feats Marco had acquired by his
gymnastics in New York.
After this, Forester and Marco clambered up
somie rocks on an elevated summit, where they
had  a fine view of the village below  them.
They could trace the river, winding through
the valley, with the green intervals on both
sides of it. They could see the village and the
streets, with the spire of the meeting-house in
the center.  The  mill-pond was in full view
also; and AIarco's attention was attracted by
a boat, which he saw gliding over the surface
of the water.
"0O! there is a boat," said Marco.
"Yes," said Forester.   "I have paddled over
the water many a time in her."
"o)vv many oars does she pull?" asked
Marco.
"Oars?" said Forester, " no oars; they use
paddles."
"I wish they had some oars," said Marco,
"and then I would get a crew of boys, and
teach them  to manage  a boat  man-o'-war
fashion."
A fi.,io view. 
TH  E V'L1  AG  E.
The boat.
"Ho\v do you know any thing about it?"
asked Forester.
"O0, I learned at New York, in the boats at
the Batterv."
"Vell," said Forester, " we'll have some oars
made, and get a crew. I should like to learn
myself."
" Let us go down and see the boat," said
Marco, "now."
"No," replied Forester, "it is time to go to
dinner now; but we'll come and see the boat
the next time wve go to take a walk."
So \Iarco and Forester came down the hill,
and thence went across the fields home to dinner. They dined at half-past twelve o'clock,
which seemed a very strange hour to Marco
79 
80    MARCO PAUL. IN X  R M (o) N T.
The back office.
CHAPTER V.
STUDYING.
HE little building where Forester's father
had his office, had a small back room in
it, which opened from the office proper, and
which was used as a library and private study.
It had a small fire place in it, and there was a
table in the middle of the room, with a large
portable writingT-desk upon it. This desk was
made of rosewood.  The sides of the room were
lined with book-shelves. There was one large
window which looked upon the yard and garden behind. The books in this room were
principally law-books, though there were some
books of history and travels, and great dictionaries of various kinds.   Forester conducted
Miarco into this room, a day or two after their
arrival in the village, saying,
"Here, Marco, this is to be our study.  How
cto you like it?"
" Very well," said Marco.   " It is a ver,s
pleasant room. Am I to study all these books?"
P,ooks. 
TUI)VIN(;              SI
Mlarco's desk.
"N ot more than one at a time, at any rate,"
said Forester.
"This is my place, I suppose," said Marco;
and so saying he sat down in a great arm-chair,
before the portable writing-desk, which  was
open on the table.
THE  STUDY.
"No," said Forester, "that is my place.  I
am going to arange your establishment near
the wiidow-  Jrames has gone to bring your
(lesl lnow"
S T 13 D Y I N (.
81 
,2   MAIARCO  PAUL  IN VER IONT.
roresters arrangements.                       Ink, paper and pens.
Chile he was speaking, the door opened, and
James, the young man who lived at Forester's
father's came  in, bringing a desk.   It was
painted blue, and had four legs. These legs
were of such a length as to make the desk just
high enough for Marco. James put it down, at
Forester's  direction, near  the  window.   It
was placed with the left side toward the window, so that the light from the window would
strike across the desk firom left to right. This
is the most convenient direction for receiving
light when one is writing. Forester then placed
a chair before the desk, and MIarco went into
the house and brought out all the books and
papers which he had, and arranged them neatly
in his desk.  While he was gone, Forester took
an inkstand and a sand-box out of a closet by
the side of the fire, and filled them both, and
put them on the desk. He also placed in the
desk a supply of paper, in quarter sheets.  Aftel
Marco  had come  back, and had put in his
books and papers, Forester gave him a ruler
and a lead pencil; also a slate and half a dozen
slate pencils; also a piece of sponge and a piece
of India-rubber. He gave him besides a little
square phial, and sent him to fill it with water,
Foresterfs arrallgetlellts.
Inik, paper and pens. 
S TUDY I NG.                               83
A bunch of peolis.
so thlat he might have water always at hand to
Net his sponge with.
"Nov is that all vou will want?" asked
Forester.
"Whv, yes, I should think so," said Marco.
'If I should wvant any thing else, I can ask
you, you know.   You are going to stay here
and study too?
Yes,"' said Forester; "but your asking tnme
is just what I wish to avoid.  I wish to arrange
it so that we shall both have our' time to ouirsel\-es, wNithout interruption."
"But I shall have to ask you questions when
I get into difficulty," said Marco.
"\o," said Forester, "I hope not.  I mean
to contrive it so that you can get out of difficulty yourself.  Let me  see.  You will want
some pens. I will get a bunch of quills and
make them up into pens for you."
"'Whlat, a whole bunch?" said Marco.
Yes," replied Forester.   "I don't wish to
have you come to me, when I am in the midst
of a law argument, to get me to make a pen."
Steel pens were very little used in those days.
\\While Forester was making the pens, he said,
There are twenty-five quills in a bunch.   I
ihall tie them  up, when they are ready, into
-,Iarco's qtiest,.oi-is. 
84         AARCO  PAULI IN VERMONT.
Rules for Marco.                             Various arrangornts.
two bunches, of about a dozen in each. These
you will put in your desk.  When you want a
pen, you wtill draw one out of the bunches and
use it.  You must not stop to look them over,
to choose a good one, but you must take any
one that comes first to hand, because, if any one
should not be good, the sooner you get it out
and try it, and ascertain that it is not good, the
sooner you will get it out of the way."
" WVell," said Marco, "and what shall I do
with the bad ones?"
"Wipe them clean,-by the way, you must
have a good penwiper,-and then put them together in a particular place in your desk.
When you have thus used one bunch, tie them
up and lay the bunch on my desk to be mended,
and then you can go on using the other bunch.
This will give me opportunity to choose a convenient time to mend the first bunch again.
When I have mended them, I will tie them up
and lay them on your desk again. Thus you
will always have a supply of pens, and I shall
never be interrupted to mend one. This will
be a great deal more convenient, both for you
and for mne."
"Only it will use up a great many more
pens," replied Mfarco.
Ru,les for Alarco.
Various aitangelneits. 
S lTU D Y I N G.                         85
A difficlity.
"No," said Forester; " not at all.  We shall
have more in use at one time, it is true, but the
wvhole bunch may last as long as if we had only
one cut at a time.
" NVe shall begin to study," continued Forester, "at nine o'clock, and leave off at twelve.
That will give you half an hour to run about
and play before dinner."
"And a recess?" said Marco,-" I ought to
have a recess."
"Vihy-, there's a difficulty about a recess,"
said Forester.  "I shall have it on my mind
every da-y, to tell you when it is time for the
recess, and when it is time to come in."
"0 no," replied Marco, " I can find out when
it is time for the recess.  Let it be always at
ten o'clock, and I can look at the watch."
liarco referred to a watch belonging to Forester's father, which was kept hung up over the
mantel-piece in their little study.
"'I think it probable you would findl out when
it was time for the recess to begin," said Forester, "but you would not be so careful about
the end of it. You would get engaged in play,
and would forget how the time was passing,
and I should have to go out and call you in."
(iouldn't you have a little bell?" said Marco.
Recess. 
St}    MAnRco  PAUL  IN  VEIMot  I-.
'amous plans.                       Forester's ideas,
iBut I don' t wish to have any thing of that
kind to do," said Forester.  "I amn going to instruct you half an hour every morning, beginDing at nine o'clock, and I want to have it all
so arranged, that after that, I shall be left entirely- to myself. so that I can go on with my
studies, as \vell as you with yours.  If we can
do this successfully, then, when noon comes, I
shall feel that I have done my morning's work
well, and you and I can go off in the afternoon
on all sorts of expeditions.  But if I have to
spend the whole morningi in attending to you,
then I must stay at home and attend to my own
studies in the afternoon."
"Well" said MIarco, " I think I can find out
wihen to come in.a"
" We'll try it one or two morlnings, but I have
no idea that you will succeed. Hiowever, we
can give up the plan if we find that you stay
out too long.  You may have five minutes' recess every day, at eleven o'clock.   On  the
whole it shall be test minutes.  And this shall
be the plan of your studies for the morning.  At
nine o'cloclk, I shall give you instruction for half
an hour. Then you may study arithmetic for
one hour; then write half an hour; then have
a recess for ten minutes; then read for the re,st 
STUDYING.
Direetions about studying.                             The schedule.
of the last hour. That will bring it to twelve
o'clock."
"But I can't study arithmetic, alone," said
Marco.
"Yes," said Forester, "I shall show you how,
in the first half-hour when I am giving you my
instructions.   Now, are you willing really to
try to carry this system into effect, pleasantly
and prosperously?"
"Yes," said Maarco, " I'll try."
"We  shall find some  inconveniences and
troubles at first, I have no doubt," said Forester;
"but if we are patient and persevering, we
shall soon make the system go smoothly."
Forester then said, that as Marco might forget what he had to do each hour, he would
nmalke a sort of map of the hours, with the name
of the study which he was to pursue marked in
each. This he called a schedule. The schedule, when it was completed, was as follows:
XI.                     XII.
II
' r          1. (        f
.     9 I X          4
This schedule was drawn neatly on a piece
87
Directionis about studying.
The schedule.
1X.
X.
. _
2
z.
._..
._
I 
88   iMARcO  PAUL IN  VERM.XONT.
roreer a teacher.                                The writing-hook.
of paper, and fastened with wafers to the undei
side of the lid of MIarco's desk, so that he could
look at it at any time, by opening( his desk.
It was in the afternoon that this conversation
was held, and these preparations made.   The
next morning, at nine o'clock, Marco and Forester went into the little study, and Forester
gave him his instructions.  He  took his arithmetic, and explained to him how to perform
some examples, under one of the rules.  Forester performed one or two of them himself, explaining very particularly all the steps. He
then rubbed out his work, and directed Marco
to perform them by himself in the same manner.  "If vou succeed in doing these right," said
he, "you may set yourself some others of the
same kind, with different numbers, and perform
those too. If you get into any difficulty, you
must not ask me, but you may  set yourself
sums in addition, and spend the rest of the hour
in doing them. That, you can certainly do
without help."
Yes," said M\Iarco, "I can do that."
"The next half-hour is for writing," said Forester.'"I will set you some copies."
So Forester took a writing-book, which he
had prepared, and wrote Marco some copies,
The writing-book.
Forester a teacher. 
STUD Y ING.                                  89
Reading.
one on the top of each page. Marco looked
over him while he wrote.  It is very imniortant
that a child should see his teacher write his
copies, for thus he will see how the letters
should be formed.  Forester wrote four or five
copies for Marco, and while he was  writing
them he gave him particular instructions about
the manner of holding his pen, and shapiong the
letters.
"Now," said Forester, "you  can not possibly have occasion to come to me about your
writing; for here are pages enough for you to
write upon for several days, and you have plenty of pens."
"But I should think you would want to see
whether I write it well," said MIarco.
"I shall  examine  it carefully  to-morrow
morning," said Forester.
" Very well," said Marco; "after the writing
will come the recess."
"Yes," said Forester, "and then the reading."
"What shall I read?" asked Marco.
Forester then rose and went to one of the
book-shelves, where there was a set of books,
entitled the American Encyclopedia. There
were thirteen octavo volumes in the set.  It
was rather too high for Marco to reach it, and
Copies. 
90   MIARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Mareos reading-book.                   Memoranda to be made.
so Forester took all the volumes down and
placed them on a lower shelf, not far from the
windowN, in a place where Marco could get easy
access to them.
"There," said Forester; "there is your library. The American Encyclopedia is a sort
of a dictionary. WNhen your reading hour
comes, you may take down any volume of this
Encyclopedia, and turn to any article you
please. Or you may think of any subject that
you would like to read about, as for instance,
boat, cannon, camel, eagle, trout, horse, or any
other subject, and take down the proper volume and find the article. You can find it by
the letters which are printed on the backs of
the volumes."
"Let us look now," said Marco, "and see
what it says about trouts."
"No,  not now,"  replied Forester; "when
your reading hour comes, you may read what
vou choose. Only you must have a piece of
paper at hand, and write upon it the title of
every article which you read, and show it to
me the next morning, because I shall wish to
know whlat you have been reading, and perhaps
to question you about it. Now you understand
-our work, do vou not?"
Mlarco's reading-book.
Memoranda to be made. 
STUDYING.
Marco inot to be watched.
"Yes," said MIarco; "and what are you going to do?"
" 0, I'm going to study my law-books."
"Shall you stay here and study?"
"Yes," replied Forester, "I shall be here most
t)f the time.  Sometimes I shall be called into
the other room, perhaps, on business with my
lather; but that need not make any difference
with vou."
"Only, then there will be nobody to watch
t-e," said Marco.
"0, I shall not watch you any, even when 1
am here.  I shall pay no attention to you at all.
I can judge to-morrow morning, when I come
to look at your work and give you new instruc
tions, whether you have been industrious or not.
Even if I accidentally see you doing any thing
wrong, I shall not probably say any thing about
it. I shall remember it, and speak to you about
it to-morrow morning, in my half-hour.  I shall
do everything in my half-hour."
Mlarco felt somewhat relieved, to think that
he was not going to be under a very rigid observation in his studies.
"I do not expect," said Forester, "that you
will do very well for the first few days. It will
take some time to get this system under fiuli
91 
92    MIARCO  PAUL IN VER.0IONT.
Miarco's promises.                    An answer.
operation.  I presume that you will come to me
as many as ten times the first day."
", no," said Mlarco, "I don't mean to come
to you once."
"You will,-I have no doubt.  What shall 1
say to you if you do?  Will it be a good plan
for me to answer your question?"
"Why, no," said Marco, "I suppose not."
"And yet, if I refuse to answer, it will not be
very pleasant to you. It will put you out of
humor."
"No," said Marco.
"I will have one invariable answer to give
you," said Forester.  " It shall be this,-Act
according to your own judgment. That will
be a little more civil than to take no notice of
your question at all, and yet it will preserve our
principle,-that I am to give you no assistance
except in my half-hour. Then, besides, I will
keep an account of the number of questions you
ask me, and see if they do not amount to ten."
By this time Forester's half-hour was out,
and MAIarco went to his desk.
"There's one thing," said Marco, "before I
begin:-may I have the window open?"
" Act according to your own judgment," said
Forester, "and there is one  question asked." 
S T U D Y I NG.
Coming to an uinderstanding.
So Forestel made one mark upon a paper which
he had upon the table.
"But, cousin Forester, it is not right to count
that, for I had not begun."
Forester made no reply, but began arranging
his note-books, as if he wvas about commencing
his owvn studies.  Miarco looked at him a moment, and then he
rose  and  gently. _.,:;(       illli!
opened the window n..
and   began   his.     li' == __
Mfarco was but
little  accustomed.
to  solitary stud\ 
and, after perforn-.,
ing one of t he   ex- 
amples which For
ester  had  given 
him, he thought he           ACO'S
was tired, and he
began to look out the window and to play with
his pencil.  He would lay his pencil upon the
upper side of hIis slate, and let it roll down. As
the pencil was not round, but polygonal in its
form, it made a curious clicking sound in rolling dowsn. which amutsed c, lar(). though it dis
9.3 
94   MARCO PAIJL IN VERMONT.
Marco's amusement.                                He loses his pencil.
turbed and troubled Forester. Whatever may
have been the nice peculiarities in the delicate
mechanism of Forester's ear, and of the nerves
connected with it, compared with that of Marco's, by which the same sound produced a sensation of pleasure in one ear, while it gave only
pain in the other, it would require a very profound philosopher to explain. But the effect
was certain. Forester, however, did not speak,
but let Marco roll his pencil down the slate
as long as he pleased.
This was not long, however; Marco soon
grew tired of it, and then began to look out the
window. There was a little staple in the
window sill, placed there as a means of fastening the blind.   Marco pushed the point of
his pencil into this staple, in order to see if it
wouldgo through.  It did go through in an instant, and slipping through his fingers, it fell out
of the window.
"Dear me! there goes my pencil.  My pencil has dropped out of the window, cousin Forester; shall I go out and get it?"
"Act according to your own judgment," said
Forester. At the same time he was saying
this, he made another mark upon his paper.
"Why, you ought not to count that, cousin
Marcols amusement.
He loses his pencil. 
STUDYING.    9jr~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5Iarco goes out for his pencil.
Forester," said Marco,  "for  I don't  know
whether  you'd wish me to go and get that penci], or take another out of my desk."
"Act according to your own judgment," replied Forester.
MIarco looked perplexed and troubled. In
fact, he was a little displeased to find that Forester would not answer him. He thought that
it was an unforeseen emergency, which Forester
ought to have considered an exception to his
rule.  But he was obliged to decide the question for himself, and he concluded to go out for
his pencil. It took him some time to find it in
the grass, and after he had found it, he stopped
for some time longer, to watch some ants which
were passing in and out, at the entrance to
their nest, each one bringing up a grain of sand
in his forceps.  When Marco came in, he found
that his hour for arithmetic was so nearly expired, that he should not have time to finish
another sum, if he should begin it; so he put
his arithmetical apparatus away, and took out
his writing-book.
MIarco  wvent  through  the  whole forenoon
pretty much in the same  way.  He spent a
large part of his time in looking out of the window and about the room.  He went out at the
8 TUDY IN C,.
95 
96(    r,IARC(O  PAUL  1IN  vIER  IONT.
Forester satisfied with Marco.
time f/or the recess, but he stayed out twenty
minutes instead of ten.  He  was astonished,
when lie came in, to see how  rapidly the time
had passed. He then took down a volume of
the Encyclopedia, and read until twelve o'clock,
and thlen, leaving the volume of the Encyclopedia and his writing-book on his desk, he told
Forester that the study hours were over, antd
went away.
Tile next morning, at nine, Forester asked
hlim  how  he  had got along the day before.
.larco had the frankness to admit that he dili
not get along very well.
Still," said Forester, "I am well satisfied on
the w'-"iole.  You did very well for a first ex1)erittent. In the first place, you did really
make some effort to carry out my plan.   You
kept tihe reckoning of the hours, and changed
y,oui' studies at the appointed time.  You did
not si)eak to me more than three or four times,
and then you acquiesced pretty good-natured]\
in my refusing to help you.  To-day you will
(lo better, I have no doubt, and to-morrow better
still. And thus, in the course of a week, I have
Silreat confidence that you will learn to study for
tht'ee hours by yourself, to good advantage."
"i'Two hours and a half it is," said Maarco. 
STUDYING.
Mlarco's recreations.
"Yes," said Forester.
It resulted as Forester predicted. Marco,
finding that Forester was disposed to be pleased
with and to commend his efforts, made greater
efforts every day, and, in the course of a week,
he began to be a very respectable student.  In
the afternoon he used to ramble about, sometimes with Forester, and sometimes alone. He
was very fond of fishing, and Forester used to
allowv him to go to certain parts of the river,
where the water was not deep, alone, trusting
to his word  that he would  confine  himself
strictly to the prescribed bounds.
G
97 
98 i' AR,,                                   I' ),' 7 L I    N     F lI{ Mb' N'
Marco's character.
(  11 A  P'T  E  it    -T,
Tfrp, LOG CANOE.
:VERY  thing went on very prosperously,
-     for a w-eek or two, in the little study.
?,[arco became more and more attentive to his
studies, and more and more interested in thlem.
wle was often getting into little difficulties, it is
t-i'ue, and giving trouble to his uncle and aunt;
tbut then he generally seemed sorry afterward
or the trouble which he had thus occasioned,
nd he bore reproof, and such punishments as
liS cousin thought it necessary to inflict, with
so much good-humor, that they all readily forgave him for his faults and misdemeanors.
One day, however, about a fortnight after
hlie had commenced his studies, he got led away,
through the influence of a peculiar temptation,
into a rather serious act of transgression, which.,iglit have been followved by very grave con
sequences.   The  circu'mstances  were  these.
He had commenced  his studies as usual, after
having received his half l-hour's instruction from
Foresteir, and wvq, in the niidst of the process 
T H E  LAOG CAN () E.
Forester goes away.
of reducing the fraction  4 to its lowest terms,
when he happened to look out of the window
and to see two boys climbing over a garden
fence belonging to one of the neighbor's houses,
at a little distance in the rear of his uncle's
house. It was a very pleasant morning, and
Marco had the window open; so he could see
the boys very plainly. They stopped on the
farther side of the fence which they had got
over, and though they were partially concealed
by the fence, yet Marco could plainly perceive
that they were busily employed in doing something there, though he could not imagine what.
Ile wished very much to go and see; but he
knew that it would be in vain to make request
for permission, and so he contented himself
with watching them.
Just at this moment his uncle opened the
door which led into the little study, and asked
Forester if he would step into the office. Forester did so; and then, after a few minutes, he
returned, put up his books, and said that he had
got to go away, and that perhaps he should not
be back till noon. Marco had often been left
alone at his studies for a time, but never for a
whole morning before. He knew that he was
to go on with his work just as i; Forester had
99
A fraction.
I 
100  PAa3t- F:AL IN  myRt(NT.
A mystery.
remained. So Forester bade him good morning, and then went away.
Marco watched the boys, wondering more
and more what they could be doing. They
kept stooping down to the ground, and moving
about a little, as if they were planting seeds.
But as it was entirely the wrong season for any
such work, Marco concluded that they must
be hiding something in the ground. "Perhaps," said he to himself, " they have been
stealing some money, and are burying it. I
wish I could go and see."
If there had been a door leading directly
from the study into the yard, Marco would
have left his studies and have gone out at once;
but as it was, he could not get out without
going through the office where his uncle was
sitting. At last the thought struck him that he
might jump out the window. He felt some
hesitation at taking this step, but finally he
concluded that he would do it, and just go near
enough to see what the boys were hiding, and
exactly where they were putting it, so that he
could go afterward and find it without fail. He
determined to return then immediately.
"I shall not be out longer than five minutes,"
II ~ 
THE  LoG CANOE.               101
Marco goes out to see the boys.
said he to himself, "and I will let it go for my
recess.
So he took his cap from the nail where he
was accustomed to hang it, while he was at his
studies, and then climbing out the window, feet
foremost, he let himself down gently to the
ground. He then crept slyly along through the
yards and gardens, until he got pretty near the
place where the boys were at work. The mystery, however, was rather increased than diminished by the near view. He could make
nothing of the operations which they were engaged in; and while he was hesitating whether
to go nearer, one of the boys happened to look
up and spied him. Marco had intended to keep
himself concealed by a tree, behind which he
had taken his station, but the boy having looked
up suddenly, at a moment when he happened
to be off his guard, saw him before he had time
to draw back under the cover he had chosen.
"Holloa, Marco," said the boy, "come here."
Marco was astonished at this frank and open
invitation. He had expected that tile boys,
when they saw him, would have dropped at
once behind the fence to conceal themselves,
or that they would have caught up what he
supposed they were burying, and have run 
102   M AR CO  PAUL IN V ER MONT.
Mystery explained.                                    A good resolution.
away.   Their accosting him in this tearless
manner deranged his ideas about their probable
object, and increased his curiosity to know
what they were doing. So he came forth from
his concealment and went toward them. When
he reached the spot, the mystery was suddenly
dispelled by his finding out that they were digging worms for bait, to go a-fishing.
Marco's curiosity was now changed to eager
desire. The boys told him that they were going down to the river to fish for eels, and Marco's soul was all on fire to accompany them.
He had never fished for eels. He knew the
boys very well, and they offered to lend him a
hook and line. But Marco thought that on the
whole it would not do. He tried to persuade
them to wait until the afternoon, but they would
not consent to such a postponement of their
pleasure. So Marco wished them good luck,
and began to mount the fence again, with the
intention of returning to his studies.
On looking toward the office, he saw his uncle
coming out of the door in the rear of it, and
walking toward the house.  Marco immediately
reflected that it would not answer for him to
meet his uncle, and he descended from the fence
again on the same side with the boys, until his 
T1 E Lot; CANOE.
Tri,nrng trees.                              Marco decides to go
uncle should go back. The boys thought he
came back because he was undecided whether
to go with them or not, and they renewed their
invitations with redoubled urgency.   Marco
did not reply, but looked steadily toward the
house. He saw a man standing in the yard
with a small ladder in his hand. A moment
afterward, Marco's uncle came out of the house,
and, to Marco's great consternation, he perceived that he had a saw and a hatchet in his
hand, and then he recollected that his uncle had
been intending to prune some trees that forenoon. The trees were situated in various positions about the yard, so that Marco could
neither go in at the front door of the office, nor
climb in at the window, without being discovered. He did not know what to do.
In the mean time, the boys urged him to go
with them. They did not know any thing
about his studies, and supposed that his hesitation was only owing to his want of interest in
the object of the expedition. Finally, Marco
concluded to go. He supposed that he should
not be able to get back into his study till noon,
as he recollected that his uncle expected to be
employed all the iorenoon about his pruning.
He thlouglt. lherelore, thalt his chance of' detec
103
Marco decides to ge.
Trimiimilng trees. 
104  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Marco escapes.
tion would not be increased by staying out an
hour or two longer, and so he told the boys that
he would go.
When they had procured sufficient bait, they
went toward the river. Their way led them
not very far from the house, and they were several times in situations where they were exposed to view, in case Marco's uncle had looked
toward them. Marco, however, contrived to
walk by these places in such a manner as to
cover himself as much as possible from view by
the other boys; and besides, he hoped that his
uncle was too much occupied with his pruning,
to notice what boys were prowling about the
village. They passed across the street in this
manner, and then went down over the intervales toward the river. Marco felt quite relieved at seeing that his uncle kept steadily at
his work, holding the ladder for the other man
to mount by, or sawing off low branches himself, without appearing to notice the boys at all.
The river was circuitous in its course, and
its banks were in some places steep, and in
others low and sandy. The water was generally shallow, but in some places it was deep,especially under the high banks.   In many
places there were willows and elms, overhang
t 
THE LOG CANOE.
Fishing place.                    Fishing.                    Bad luck.
ing the water. It was in one of these places
that the boys were going to fish for eels. It
was a point where the river took a sudden turn,
forming a sort of angle in the stream, where
the water was very dark and deep. The bank
was high at that place, and it was covered with
trees and bushes.   Some of these trees had
been undermined, and their roots and branches
were floating in the water. The boys scrambled
down to the brink and made ready for fishing.
They cut slender poles in the bushes, for fishingpoles. There was a trunk of a tree lying along
the shore, extending obliquely out a little way
over the water, which furnished them a convenient footing. They stood or sat upon it, baited
their hooks, and threw them over into the
water. They followed the bait with their eyes
as it sunk slowly down into the dark depths,
among the logs, and roots, and trunks of trees,
which were lying submerged in the water.
The boys remained here an hour, but they
caught no eels. Either there were none there,
or for some reason or other they chose not to
bite.   They  had some  talk about going to
another place, but before they decided upon
that plan, Marco's attention was arrested by
the sight of what appeared to be a large log
105
Fishing place.
Fishing.
Bad luck. 
106   iIARC Co APAUL  I' VE AT IIOT.
toating down the liver.  He pointed it out to
'le other boys, and, on closer examination, then
saw that it was an old canoe, of the kind that
.re formed by hollowing out a log.  It was not
of very large size, and it appeared to be rathe;
old and decayed.  Still, the boys wanted to get
it very much. They gathered in their lines,
and ran along the bank, keeping pace with the
boat as it floated down.
Theyv  V-e,:-  soon caine to a reach of the riv
i
A discovery.
BOAT ADRIFT. 
T'H E LOG CANO E.
Condition of the boat.
er,-that is, to a length of it between one bend
and another, where the water was swift and
shallow. So the two boys who had been fishing with Marco threw off their shoes, and
pulled up their trowsers, and ran down the
bank, and into the river. The boat was far out
in the stream, and they had to wade some distance before they came to it. Besides, as the
boat was floating down all the time, while they
were wading across, it got some distance down
the stream before they could reach it.  They,
however, succeeded in getting it at last, and,
with much floundering in the water and many
shouts of laughter, they brought it over to
MIarco.
Marco was much pleased with the prize. It
was in better condition than they had expected
to find it. There was, indeed, a piece knocked
out at one end, near the upper edge, but they
found that it would support all three of the
boys, if they sat in it carefully, and with their
weight principally at the other end.  For want
of oars or paddles they cut poles on the banks,
thinking that they could push the boat along,
by planting the poles against the bottom, as the
water was not deep. They drew the boat up
to the shore, and poured out some water which
107 
108   MARCO PAUL IN VilRMONT.
The river.                                                        Navigation.
had got into her, and then they all carefully embarked, intending to make a little voyage.
It happened that just below the place to
which the boat had drifted before they overtook
it, the water became somewhat deeper, and of
course more smooth and still, so that it afforded
a favorable place for navigating such a boat.
In fact, the character of the stream, throughout
its whole course for several miles, was to present a constant succession of changes, from,
deep and almost still water, to shallow and rapid
currents, rippling over beds of sand and gravel.
One of these rapids, or rips, as they were called,
the boys had just passed; it being in one of
them, though one more broad and less rapid
than many of the others, that they had pursued
and overtaken the boat. In the smooth and
still water below, therefore, they had a very
favorable opportunity to try their boat, for the
water, though not so shallow as it was above,
was still not so deep as to prevent their propelling their boat, by pushing their poles against
the bottom. It required some care to preserve
their equilibrium, but then the water was not
deep, and they knew, therefore, that there was
no danger of being drowned if they should
upset.
N
The river.
Navigation. 
T HE   LoG C A N O E.
Lookisig for eels.                                                   The rips.
Things went on very prosperously, until, after
a few minutes, the boys suddenly found themselves drifting into deeper water. Their poles
would scarcely touch the bottom. Marco, who
was not much accustomed to this kind of navigation, was at first somewhat alarmed, but the
other boys told him to keep quiet, and they
would soon drift into shallow water again.
They accordingly drew in their poles, and began
to look over the edge of the boat into the water,
to see if they could see any eels. They saw no
eels, but the water soon began to grow shallow
again, and so the boys, feeling that they were
in no danger, remained quietly in their places,
looking idly into the water, talking about the
various objects which they saw upon the bottom.
After some minutes spent in this manner, one
of the boys looked down the stream, and saw
that the boat was gradually approaching another
of the rapids.
"Come, boys," said he, "we must go to work,
or we shall be down over the rips."
So the boys all took their poles and began to
push the boat up the stream; but they found it
harder than they had expected. In fact, the
boat had drifted down nearer to the rapids than
109
Looking for eels.
The rips. 
110  MiAARCO  PAUL  IN  VERMIO()NT.
Boat in the whlirlpools.           VWater not deep.
they ought to have allowed it to go. The water
was running quite swiftly where they were, and
they soon found that all their efforts were not
sufficient to stem the current. The boat was
carried round and round in every direction, excepting up the stream. In fact the current was
rapidly acquiring the entire mastery over them,
and hurrying them down to a point where the
water poured on in a furious torrent through
a long narrow passage between beds of stone
and gravel.
"Pull, boys, pull!" said Marco; "we shall
go down over the rips in spite of every thing."
The boys did pull, but they could effect
nothing. The water was sweeping them along
with great rapidity, notwithstanding all their
struggles. Finally, when they found that they
could not make head against it, so as to go up
the stream, they concluded to pull for the shore.
They were not in any great fear, for the river
was very narrow and not more than knee
deep in the rapids, so that there was no real
danger of any calamity greater than getting
well wet. They seemed to be also in a fair
way to escape this, for they found that they
could make some progress in getting their boat
toward the shore.  But, just as they began to
I 
THE LOG CANOE.
I i'ger.                                                     Boat upset.
think their object was about to be accomplished,
they were arrested by a sudden mishap.  It
happened that there was a little snag in the
liver, nearly in the direction in which they
vere going.  It was the end of a small log,
wvhich rose almost to the surface of the water.
The greater part of the log was firmly imbedded
in the sand, but there was a small portion of it
which projected so far as barely to be submerged. The boys did not notice this, and, in
their eagerness to run the boat ashore, it happened that they were running it across the current, just above this snag. But as the current
was sweeping them down the stream at the
same time that they were pushing themselves
across it, it carried the boat with great force
against this snag. The bottom of the boat was
confined by it, while the force of the current,
still pressing upon the side, overset it in a moment, and threw all the boys out into the water.
The boys scrambled out without much difficulty, and stood upon the gravelly beach. They
saw at the same moment a man on the bank of
the river above, who looked as if he was about
to run to their aid; but when he saw that they
were safe, he turned around immediately and
disappeared. An instant afterward, Marco,
III
!.,anger.
Boat upset.
::1
I I 
112  MARCO FAIJL IN VERMONT.
Cap gone.
finding that his cap
was not upon his
head,looked around
for it, and, to his
dismay, he saw
it floating swiftly
away   down   the
rapids. He ran in
, ~%~ ~~_ ~to the water and
\ seized  the  boat,
:~:~~  ~~  -which  was  then
>-a   ~beginning also to
CAP GONE.         goaway.  He call                          ed upon the boys
to help him pull it up and pour the water out.
He then lanched it again with all speed, seized
one of the poles, clambered into it, and pushed
off into the swiftest part of the current, and
away he went after his cap.
He resorted to this desperate measure, because he was greatly alarmed at the idea of
going home without his cap. It would have
certainly insured his detection, and, as he supposed, a double punishment. He now was as
eager to go down the rapids as he had before
been to escape them. His only care was to
keep his boat head down, so that if he should
vi
I I
~ - 
TH I.: LOG CANOE.
MAlarco ~,ocs after his cap.
encounter any snag or rock he might not be
thrown broadside on. He kept a good lookout
too ahead. The boat shot through the water
like an arrow, and was soon clear of the rapids
in the comparatively still water below.
Marco contrived to paddle with his pole, so
as to overtake the cap and recover it. Then
he went to the shore and landed. He drew up
the boat as high as he could, and went back to
seek the other boys. He concluded that it was
time to go home. His conscience now began
to reproach- him with the wrong which he had
been doing.  His promised pleasure had failed.
His clothes were wet and uncomfortable.   His
mind was anxious and unhappy.  With a heavy
heart he began to retrace his steps, sure of detection whien he reached home, and of punishm-ent.  He did not, however, dread the punishment so much as the just displeasu'e which Ilis
cousin would manifest, and the evidence of the
pain which he knew his cousin \would sufer,
when he cattle to learn how his puhli had betrayed the conrfidence whi,ich had been reposed
in him.  Before he set otlt for hotle, however,
he took )ff sucih (i' his clothes as wvere  iiiost
wet, and wrung out the water as well as he
could, and then put them on again.
if
113
M,arco's remoi,)rse. 
114   M R A  CO  PAUL  IN  V ER MONT.
He returns to the office.
When he drew near to the house, he expected
to see his uncle still at work, but he was not
there. Marco reconnoitered the place carefully,
and then went into the office. His uncle was
not in the office. He passed through into the
study. He was afraid that Forester would be
there, but, to his surprise and joy, he was not,
and there was no sign that he had been there
since the morning. Marco looked at the watch,
and found that it was only about half-past
eleven. So he took down a volume of the Encyclopedia and began to read. He read the
article canoe, and he found some information
about the bark canoes made by Indians, but
nothing about log canoes. In about fifteen
minutes he heard the office door open, and his
cousin Forester came in. Forester walked
into the study, but said nothing to Marco.
Marco kept at his work, without speaking to
his cousin. He began to hope that he might
yet escape. His only fear now was lest his
wet clothes should be observed. He put his
hand down many times to his knees, to ascertain how fast they were drying. The clothes
that he wore were of woolen, and of a dark
color, so that they did not show the wet very
distinctly, and, besides, the sun  and the air 
THE  LoG  CANOE.
Clothes dry.
were warm that day, and the clothes had dried
fast. In a word, when twelve o'clock arrived
and Marco put his books away, nobody would
have observed that his clothes had been wet.
He ran about in the open air until dinner-time,
and though, when he went in to dinner, he felt
oppressed with a sense of guilt and of self-condemnation, he was satisfied that no one suspected him.  Marco thought that he had had a
very lucky escape.
115 
116  MARCo PAUL IN VERMONT.
iarco'B fees.                                               Detection.
CHAPTER VII.
A  DILEMMA.
HOUGH  Marco's first feeling was that of
relief, to find that he had got back from
his truancy without detection, he felt, after all,
ill at ease. He kept out of sight till the dinnerbell rang, and then he was almost afraid to go
in, for fear that, by some accident or other, his
uncle might have noticed his absence, and
might ask him something about it. He was
usually much interested at dinner-time in talking with Forester about plans for the afternoon;
Dut now he felt guilty and afraid, and he was
disinclined to look his uncle or his cousin in the
{ace, or to speak a word.
And yet it was not punishment that Marco
was afraid of. There were very few boys who
could bear punishment of any kind with more
fortitude than he, or to whom the idea of punishment gave less concern. It was the detection itself, rather than what was to come after
it, that he feared. There is something in the
very act of being detected and exposed in guilt,
Detection.
Mlarco's fears. 
A DILEMMA.
The mili-pond.                  The secret a burden.
which the heart instinctively shrinks from; and
many a boy would willingly bear in secret twice
the pain which the punishment of an offense
would bring, rather than have his commission
of the offense discovered and made known.
There was, however, no indication, at the
dinner table, that Marco's cousin or uncle suspected him of any wrong. They talked of various subjects in their usual manner. Forester
had arranged it with Marco, to go that afternoon down to the mill-pond, to examine the
boat, in order to see whether they could have it
fitted with oars, and to make arrangements to
that effect. Marco now hoped that Forester
had forgotten this plan, and would not go.
Though he had been very much interested in
the plan the day before, he now felt disinclined
to go. He wished to be alone, or at least out
of sight of Forester. He felt as if he had a terrible secret on his mind, and that there was
great danger that something or other would occur to discover it. So he hoped that Forester
would have forgotten the appointment, and that
it would be thus postponed to some future
time.
But Forester had not forgotten it; and after
dinner, he asked Marco how soon he should
117 
118    MARCO  PAI IL IN XVEI MONT.
Valk to the mill-pond.
be ready to go. MIarco said that he should be
ready at any time; and in about half an hour
they set out.   They walked together to the
miill-pond.   Forester said that the boat belonged to a man who worked in the mills, but
he lived a little distance above them.  His
house was near the water, in a little valley.
The water of the pond extended up into this
valley, forming a sort of bay.
A road led to the house, but did not go beyond  it.   The  house was  small, but it had
IFe 51LI        N    iOSE 
A      Ji) 1                                                    9 1J E i,l AT A,
pleasant little yards and gardens about it, and
various pens and coops for different sorts of
animals.  The man wl-ho lived there was famous for keeping a great many animals.  ITe
had pigs, and cows, and Malta cats, and two
dogs,-one of them a water dog, —and ducks
and geese,-among the latter, two wild geese,and hens and rabbits; and there were two gray
squirrels, hanging up in a cage by the side of the
front door.  Forester told Marco about these
animals as they walked along.
AMarco was very fond of animals, and he began to anticipate great pleasure in seeing these.
When they came near the house, he ran forwvard to look at the wild geese.  The water dig
ran to meet Forester. He knew Forester, having often seen him there before.  Forester and
Iarco rambled about the yards, looking at the
animals for some time, and then went to the
water's edge, which was very near the house.
The ducks and geese were swimming in the
water.  Forester called the dog there, and Marco amused himself for some time in throwing
sticks into the water, and ordering the dog,
whose name was Nelson, to plunge in and go
and bring them back. The boat was there too,
"-etened by, a rope to a post in the bank.  At
119
'fhe house.
Animals.
T'-,o dog. 
120     t A R CO  PA I L IN  -V ER MC)N'I'
Oars and paddles.
lengthl, after 3farco had satisfied himself with
these amusements, he said,
" \Well, cousin Forester, here is the boat."
"Yes," said Forester, "but the man  don't
seem to be at home. I presume he's at the
mill."
"And what shall we do in that case?" asked
Alarco.
" Why, I will go into the house first, and
ascertain the fact, and get a paddle."
So Forester went into the house, and soon
afterward returned, bringing with him a paddle.
He said that the man was at the mill, but that
his wife said that they might have the boat to
go and find him.  "I thought," said Forester,
"that you would rather go in the boat than
walk."
"Yes," said Marco, "I should."
"Besides," continued Forester, "I can teach
you to paddle."
Aflarco took the paddle from Forester's hand.
He had never seen one before. He said that
they always used oars, not paddles, in New
York harbor. A paddle is shaped very differently firom an oar. It is much shorter and
lighter,-though the blade is broader.  A paddle
is worked, too, differently from an oar.  An oar
lieaddles. 
A  DIL. E MMI A.
Secret hard to keel).
acts as a lever against the side of the boat,the middle of it resting in a small notch called
a row-lock, or between two wooden pins. But
a paddle is held in the hands entirely.
"What  do they have paddles for in this
country?" said Marco.  "Oars are better."
"You are not competent to decide that question," replied Forester.
"Why  not?" said Marco; "I have rowed
boats many a time."
"Yes, but you have never paddled much.
You have used oars, but not paddles, and so
you can not compare them."
"Well," said MIarco, "I mean to try this
paddle now, and then I can tell."
Marco had seen the boys who were with him
in the boat that morning, using their poles as
paddles, and he had used one of the poles in
that manner himself; and he was just upon the
point of saying something upon the subject,
when suddenly he recollected that it would betray him.  in fact, Marco found that having
such a secret as this upon his mind, was a
source of great embarrassment and constraint,
as he more than once came very near making
some allusion inadvertently, which would have
resulted in his exposure. While speaking of
121
AI~rco;s opinion. 
I 22 MA\ R C O PA Ui L, I N  V ER   ONT.
Paddlinig.
boats, and oars, and paddles, and such subjects,
he had to be continually upon his guard and to
watch all his words.
They got into
-:::::- - the boat and push          =- -....        ed out  upon  the
-   =-;-~-   water.    Forester
taught Marco how
tHo use the paddle.
He gave him his
seat in the stern
-—._;~  ~.~.~-of the  t)oat, and
_-_                       directed  him  to
grasp  the  lower
_.... -,,end of the handle
A D J,i.-:~      with   the   other
hand.   Then,  by
dipping the blade in the water and pushing the
water back, the boat was propelled forward.
He also explained to him how, by turning the
blade of the paddle, one way or the other, he
ould give the bow of the boat an impulse toward the right or toward the left.
"Thus you see," said Forester, "with a paddle yvou can steer, but with an oar you can not."
"W Vith two oars I can," said Marco.
Yes." replied Forester.  "You must have 
Steersman neede(d in rowing.  Philosophy of rowing.
two oars to guide a boat, but you can do it with
one paddle. Therefore, if you can have but one,
a paddle is better than an oar. There is another advantage in a paddle; that is, in using it,
your face lookls the way that you are going."
"Yes," rejoined Marco, "that is a great advantage."
"In rowing, you must sit with your back to
the bow of the boat, and look over your shouldel to see where you are going."
"Yes," said Marco,  "unless you have a
steersman."
"True," replied Forester.  " When you have
several men to row, and one to steer, you get
along very well with oars, but in case of only
one man, there is an advantage in a paddle.
There is still another point to be considered, —
a paddle is better for a narrow boat and oars
for wide ones."
Why so?" asked Marco.
"Because," said Forester, "a certain width
is required in a boat in order to work oars well.
The oarsman must sit upon the seat, and extend the oar off upon one side of the boat, and
there must be a certain distance between the
part which he takes hold of, and the row-lock,
in order to work to advantage.  But it is no
A [') I L E<II  TA.
123 
124   MIAR(:   PAUI, IN  VERa-iONT'r.
Philosophy of pddling.
matter how narrow the boat is if he has a paddle, for he holdIs it perpendicularly over the
side."
"So paddles are better," said MIarco, "for
one kind of boat, and oars for another."
"Yes," replied Forester, "and paddles are
better for one kind of navigation, and oars for
another.  Oars require greater breadth of water
to work in. In a narrow, crooked stream flowing among logs and rocks, oars would not answer at all. But with a paddle a man can
worm a boat through anywhere."
"That is, if it is only wide enough for the
boat to go," said Marco.
"Of course," replied Forester.  "The paddle
itself requires no additional space. But oars
extend so far laterally"  "Laterally?" asked Marco.
Yes," rejoined Forester; "that is, on each
side. Oars extend so far on each side, that they
require a great breadth of water. If you attempt to go through a narrow place, the oars
would strike."
" Why, no," said Marco. "You can give
orders to trail oars."
"I don't know any thing about that," said
Forester.
To trail oars, 
A DILEMMA.
A beautiful manceuver.
"That's a beautiful manceuver," said Marco,
" only it is hard to do. You see, you order
them to give way hearty, so as to get a good
headway, till just as you get to the narrow
place, and then trail is the word. Then the
oarsmen all whip their oars out of the row-locks
in an instant, and let'em trail alongside under
the boat's counters, and she shoots through the
narrow place like a bird."
Marco became very enthusiastic in describing
this manceuver, but Forester did not get a very
clear idea of it, after all.
" You'll teach it to us," said Forester, "when
we get our oars and a good boat's crew of boys.
At any rate, a boat can be paddled continuously
through a narrow space, better than it can be
rowed. Therefore, paddles are generally used
on rivers, where there are many narrow places
to pass through. Indians and savages almost
always use paddles, for they navigate many
intricate and narrow passages of water."
By this time they began to draw near the mill.
They landed near some great logs which were
floating in the water, ready to be drawn up into
the mill and sawed. They went up the bank
and thence into the mill. The man who owned
the boat, was  tending the mill.   When  he
125
The millman. 
126   MARCo  PAUL IN VERMO N I'.
Getting up the logs.                                        Sawing.
wanted a log, he would take the end of a long
chain down a sloping plane of planks which led
to the water, and fasten it to a log. The other
end of the chain was fastened round an axle in
the mill, and when all was ready, the man
would set the axle in motion by the machinery,
and that would draw the log up. When the
log was in the mill, the man would roll it over
into its place, on a long platform of timber,
where it was to be sawed. Then he would set
the saw machinery in motion, arid the platform
would begin to move forward, and the saw at
the same time to go up and down, sawing the
log as it advanced. Thus it would saw it
through, from end to end, and then, by reversing
the motion of the machinery, the log was carried
back again. The man would then move it a
little to one side, just far enough for the thickness of the board which he wished to make,
and then begin to saw again. He moved the
log by means of an iron bar with a sharp point,
which he struck into the end of the log, and
thus pried it over, one end at a time. When
the log was placed in its new position, the machinery was set in mnotion again, and the log
was sawed through in another place, from end
to enid, parallel to the first sawing, leaving the
Sawing.
Getting up the logs.
I 
A  D I L E I MMA. 
Foresters pro)os,Al.                  Acceded to.
width of a board between. This process was
continued until the log was sawed entirely into
boards, except a piece in the middle, which it
was necessary to leave of double thickness, and
this answered for a plank.
Marco was much interested in watching this
process, and when the sawing of this log was
completed, and another log drawn up into its
place, Forester introduced the subject of the
boat. He told the man what he wished to do,
namely, to have some row-locks or thole-pins
made along the sides of the boat, and some oars to
row it with. It would also be necessary to have
seats, or thwarts, as they are called, placed in
such a manner that there should be one just
before each row-lock. These seats were for
the oarsmen to sit upon, in rowing. The man
told Forester that he might do any thing he
pleased with the boat. He was sure that Forester would do it no injury. Forester asked
him who would be a good man to do the work,
and the man recommended to him a wagonmaker who had a shop very near the mill.
They went to the wagon-maker and explained
to him what they wanted. The wagon-maker
readily undertook the work. They all went
dowv- to tile boat to 0ettaen, to   l tle seats atnd
127 
128  MIARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
The wagon-maker.                                Marco's surprise.
the places for the thole-pins. They concluded
to have three pairs on each side. This would
require six oars. These oars the wagon-maker
promised to make, and to have all the work
done by the beginning of the next week. They
also concluded to have the boat taken out of
the water and thoroughly calked again, and her
bottom payed over with pitch, as she was not
perfectly tight. This being all arranged, Forester and Marco began to walk toward home.
"It seems to me strange to get a wagonmaker to work on a boat," said Marco.
"In New York, I suppose you would go to a
boat-builder," said Forester.
Yes," replied Marco, " to be sure."
"There are no boat-buiiders here," rejoined
Forester.  "In fact, there are very few trades
represented here, and workmen are willing to
do alny kind of jobs that they can."
As only a small part of the afternoon was yet
passed away, Marco asked Forester if he might
go down to the river a-fishing.  "I can keep
within my bounds, you know," said he.
Yes," said Forester,' "you ca  keep within
your bounds."
" And I will," said Marco. " Doin't you suppose I will?" 
A DILEMMIA.
DI)oubts about MSarco.
" Vhy, you can tell better than I can about
that," said Forester.   "You have been here
now some weeks, and I have treated you with
considerable  trust  and confidenee,-have  I
not?"
\ Why, 3res,"l said Marco.
"I have given you leave to go a-fishing,
trusting to your fidelity in keeping within your
bounds. I have left you alone in your study,
several times in the forenoons.  I have let you
go up on the mountains with other boys, and
lent you m-y watchl, so that you might know
\vhen it was time to come back.   Now you can
tell better than I, whether you have been faithful to all of these trusts."
MIarco did not answer. He did not know
what to say. He walked along in silence.
"I will leave it with you to decide," said
Forester. "Here we are just home; now you
may go into the study and reflect a few moments upon the subject.  Call to mnind all the
cases in which I have treated you with trust
and confidence, and consider whether you have
always been faithful to the trust.  If, on reflection, you think that you have, you may take
your fishing-line and go a-fishing.  If you feel
conscious that vou have at any time betrayed
129
MIarco disc(,jiert(d.
I 
130   MIARCo PAUL IN VEIRMONT.
The conditionis.
my confidence, you must not go this afternoon.
You may go out to play wheirever you please
about the house and garden, but you must not
go a-fishing. If you are in doubt whether you
have betrayed my confidence or not, and wish
to ask my opinion about some particular case
which comes up to your mind, you may remain
in the study till I come in, and ask me, and I
will tell you. I shall be in, in a few minutes."
There was a pause here. Marco looked very
serious, and walked along in silence. Such a
turn to the conversation was entirely unexpected to him, and he did not know what to
say.
"It is possible," continued Forester, "that
you may be conscious that you have clearly
been guilty of betraying the confidence which
I have placed in you in some instance which I
know nothing of, or which you suppose I know
nothing of, and you may wish to confess it to
me. If you have been guilty of any such act,
the best thing that you can do is to confess it
to me at once; and if you wish to do it, you may
wait till I come, for that purpose. So you may
wait till I come either to ask me a question, ol
to confess a fault. If you do not wish to do
either, you rnmay go out without waiting for me; 
A  DI L E IiA.
Marco much perplexed.
but you must not go a-fistling unless you can
truly say that you have been faitl)ful and honest, whenever I have trusted you before."
So saying, Forester parted from Marco and
went into the house.  Marco slowly walked
into the office, and through it into the little
study.   He  was greatly perplexed to know
what to make of this address. "Can it be,"
thought he, "that he knows that I went away
this morning? How could he have found it
out? Or did he say that, only to find out now
whether I have been honest or not heretofore?"
On mature reflection, Marco concluded that
Forester did not probably know any thing
about his having gone away. He thought that
what he had just said was only a part of Forester's general plan of managing his case, and
that it did not imply that Forester entertained
any particular suspicions. Marco thought that
he might therefore safely go a-fishing that afternoon if he was disposed; but we must do him
the justice to say, that he did not entertain the
idea of doing it a moment. He determined
that he would not go. But as he was not prepared to confess his fault, and as he had no
question to ask, he determined to go and play
about the garden. He thought a little of wait.
131
His concllusionis. 
132 MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Ho wishes to confess his fault.
ing till his cousin came in, and then honestly
making a confession; but he could not quite
conclude upon this, and so he determined to go
and think more of it. Besides, he concluded
that if he were going to make a confession at
all, he should rather do it that evening when he
went to bed; for Forester always came up to
his room after he went to bed, to have a little
firiendly and serious conversation with him, and
to bid him good night.
He accordingly went out before Forester
came in. He spent the afternoon in a miserable state of mind. He could not divest himself
of the feeling of anxiety, that in some way or
other. Forester had found out his transgression.
Ile rather wondered, that, if it were true that
Forester had found it out, he had not said something to him directly about it,-but then he
knew it was Forester's way not always to make
known, at once, all that he knew in such cases.
But then he thought, again, that Forester could
not know any thing about it. There was no
way for him to have known it. He was away
all the morning, and did not come home until
after Marco got back. So he concluded that
Forester did not know; but he began to wish
that he did. He could not bear to think of tell 
A D i L E M M A.
.Marco in the garden with James.
ing him, but he wished that he knew. The
burden of such a secret became intolerable to
him. He strolled about the yards and garden,
not knowing what to do with himself, and growing all the time more and more anxious and unhappy. He was in a very serious dilemma.
Marco cast his eyes occasionally toward the
office, expecting to see Forester come out. He
thought Forester would want to know whether
lie went a-fishing or not. But he did not come.
lMarco spent some  time in the garden with
James, who was at work there raking over the
ground, and gathering in such things as might
be hurt by any sudden frost. Marco worked
with him for some time, and endeavored to converse with him, but he did not find him very
communicative, and at last he went into the
house and sat on the sofa in the parlor, reading,
until supper time.
Marco fully expected that Forester would ask
him at supper time whether he had been a-fishing or not; but he said nothing about it. Forester told his father and mother about their plan
for a boat, and gave them a full account of
their visit to the mill.  His mother seemed
quite interested in the account, and told Marco,
that, after he got his crew well trained, she
133
Planis for the boat. 
134  MIARCO PAUL IN  VERMONT.
An explanation.
should hope that hlie would invite her on an excursion in the boat.
"Yes," said  Marco, "we  will.   We  must
have a seat, cousin Forester, for passengers and
visitors, in the stern sheets."
"The stern sheets?" said Forester, "what do
you mean by the stern sheets?"
" Why, it is aft," said Marco, "between the
coxswain's place and the stroke-oarsman."
"You'll have to show us," said his aunt,
"when we come to see the boat."
This kind of conversation somewhat relieved
Marco's mind,-but still he was ill at ease, and
he determined to tell Forester the whole story
at bedtime, if he could only summon up courage to begin. 
A CONFESSION.
,larco's room.
CHAPT^ER VII.
A CONFESSION.
N the room where Marco slept, there was a
large, stuffed arm-chair, which was commonly called the easy chair; it was one that
was seldom used by the family, except in sickness. It stood in a corner of the room not far
from the head of Miarco's bed. Forester used
to sit in this chair while he remained conversing with Marco, when he came up to take his
light.
When Forester had taken his seat in the
great chair this evening, according to his usual
custom, he began his conversation by saying.
" \Well, Marco, have you been helping James
in the garden this afternoon?"
" \Why, no," said Marco, " I did not help him
much,-I don't like James very well."
"Why not?" asked Forester.
"Why, I don't think he is very accommo.
dating," replied Marco.
"What has he done to-day, which is unaccommodating?" asked Forester.
135
James. 
136    I A  R C )   A  U L. I N  V E RM O N T.
Marco flinds faitlt with Jaines.
" He would noL leni4 me his knife.  I wanted
to borrow his knife to cut me a cane from some
apple-tree trimmings, and he would not let me
have it."
"Haven't you got a knife of your own?" asked Forester.
"Yes," said Marco, "but mine won't open."
"Won't open?" repeated Forester. "What's
the cause of that?"'
"Why, I suppose because the joint is rusty,"
replied Marco.
"How came it rusty?" asked Forester.
"Why, you see I laid it down one day on a
stone, where I was at work with it, and left it
there, and there happened to come a rain in the
ni,ght and rusted it.  I did not know where it
was, and so I didn't find it for a good many
days."
"Then,  I presume," said Forester, "that
James supposed that you would leave his knife
out in the same way and spoil it."
"No," replied Marco, "that was not the rea.
son.
"i You are sure that you asked him for it distinctly, and he refused?"
Yes," said Marco.
Here there w    cs a:4tcment's pause.  Mare(,
Forester's (iiuestion~,. 
A  CONrFESSICN.I,
Marco's thoughts.
tlhought that his cousin Forester -as considering wvhat should be done to James, for being so
unaccotimmodating.  Ike did not know but tihat
he w-ould reporit him to his father and have him
turned  away; though Alarco  did not  really
\wishi to have him turned away.
But Forester said, after reflecting a moment,
That imakes me think of a story I have got
helre; listen and hear it."
So  Forester took out his pocket-book and
opened it, and then appeared to be turningc over
137
'D  A IZ'("  S   }IOOII. 
138 MARCO PAUL IN VERM
the leaves, for a moment, to find a place. Then
he began to read, or to appear to read, as follows:
Once there was a little girl named Anne.
She came to her mother one day, as she was
sitting in the parlor, and began to complain bitterly of her sister Mary.  Her sister Mary was
older than she was, and had a doll.  Anne complained that Mary would not lend her her doll.
"Are you sure that she refused to lend you
her doll?" asked her mother.
"Yes, mother, I am sure she did," replied Anne.
"Perhaps she is playing with it herself," said
her mother.
"No," replied Anne, "she is ironing in the
kitchen."
"I think you must be mistaken," said her
mother. "Go and ask her again. Don't tell
her I sent you, but ask her yourself, whether
she really meant that she was not willing to
lend you her doll."
So Anne ran off to put the question to Mary
again; presently she returned with the same
answer.  " Mary," she said, " would not lend it
to her."
"I am very sorry to hear it," said her mo
Mary and Anine.
Forester's story. 
A CONFESSION.
An unexpected coniiclusion.
ther, " for now I suppose I shall have to punish
you. "
"To punish her, you mean," said Anne.
"No," said her mother, "to punish you.  1
don't suppose she is to blame."
"Why, mother-how  can I be to blame, for
her not being willing to lend me her doll?"
"You are, I've no doubt," said her mother.
"Mary is a good-natured, accommodating girl,
-always ready to do kindnesses, and if she has
any unwillingness to lend any thing to you, it
must be that you have created it yourself, by
some misconduct. So that it will prove, no
doubt, that you are the one to be punished."
Here Anne began to hang her head and look
a little ashamed.   Her  mother's supposition
proved to be correct, for, on inquiring, it appeared that Mary had lent her doll to Anne a
few days before, and that when she wanted it
again, Anne was unwilling to give it to her,
and when Mary insisted on her bringing it to
her, she became angry and threw the doll out
the window.
"' I never heard that story before, cousin Forester," said Marco.  "And I did not know that
you hact stories in your pocket-book."
139 
140   M ARC o PAUL IN V E RMO NT.
Doubts about the story.
Forester laughed and put up his pocket-book.
"I don't believe there is any story there,"
said Marco.  "You made it up for me, I verily
believe."
" Yes," said Forester, " I did. Don't it fit
your case pretty well?"
"Why, I don't know," said Marco.  "'I don't
see why he could not let me have his knife."
"Suppose I had asked him for his knife;
don't you suppose he would have lent it to me?"
"Yes," said Marco,  "I've no doubt he
wvould; he would do any thing for you, of
course, because you pay him-or uncle pays
him, which is the same thing."
" I don't think that that is the reason altogether," replied Forester.   "There was  the
man at the mill to-day, who said that I might
take his boat and do any thing I chose to do
with it."
"Yes," said Marco, "I noticed that."
"And perhaps you thought it was very much
to his credit that he did so."
Yes," said MIarco.
"But the fact is," rejoined Forester, "as I
think, it was more to my credit than his; because I have had his boat a great many times
heretofore. and his having so much confidence
Good character. 
A  CON FE sS ION.
Advantage of a good character.
in me now, shows how I have acted with his
property before. I have always taken a great
deal of pains to use it carefully, to bring it back
to its place safely, to get the water out, if there
was any in it, and leave every thing in order.
I have done this, not only because it is just and
right that I should not make him suffer inconvenience on account of his doing me a favor,
but as a matter of policy."
" Vhat do you mean by a matter of policy?"
asked Marco.
"WVhy, regard to my own interest.  If I did
not do so, I should soon make people unwilling
to lend me their things. And I think there
must be some good reason why James is not
willing to lend you his knife."
"WVhy, he says," answered Marco, "that I
don't bring back his things."
"Ah!" rejoined Forester, "that's it. I thought
there must be some such reason as that. You
have lost your character with James, and I advise you to acquire a new one as soon as you
can. Besides, you have done him injustice this
evening. You represented him as refusing you
his knife because he was unaccommodating and
selfish, whereas it was only proper regard to the
safety of his property.  W'\hat you said was
141
Jaimnes. 
142  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Marco's knife.                           Remedies proposed.
calculated to make an unfavorable impression
on my mind against him, and one which would
have been unjust."
Marco perceived that it was so, and was si
lent.
"I am sorry that your knife is rusty," resumed Forester. "Perhaps I can get it open
for you."
"How?" asked Marco.
"Why, I believe the best way is to soak the
joint in oil. The oil will insinuate itself into
the joint, and then we can get hold of the blade
with a pair of nippers, or something of the kind,
and open it; and then, by working it to and fro
a few times, the rust will work out, and the
knife be as good as it was before. If it is very
rusty indeed, this plan will not answer."
"W hat must be done in that case?" asked
Marco.
"The only way then is to carry it to some
kind of smith and get him to punch out the
rivet. Then we can take the blade out entirelv.
By this means we can clean it of its rust, and
then put it in again with a new rivet. If you
will give me your knife to-morrow, I will try to
put it in order for you again, in one or the other
of these ways. 
A CONFESSION.
Marco in bed.                                  Forestcr about to go.
"And now," continued Forester, after a short
pause, "it is time for me to go down, unless you
have something which you wish to sav."
Although it was not unusual for Forester to
close his evening conversation in this manner,
Marco's attention was particularly arrested by
the excellent opportunity which this remark afforded him to make his confession. He really
wished to make it,-but he did not know how
to begin. He wished that his cousin would ask
him something about it, or introduce the subject in some way or other, but Forester was
silent. Presently he rose, came to Marco's
bedside, and asked him if he was warm enough,
-for the nights at this season of the year were
beginning to be cool.
"Yes," said Marco, "I'm very comfortable."
" Well, then, good night.'   So Forester took
the lamp and walked slowly toward the door.
"Cousin Forester," said Marco.
" WVhat?" said Forester.
" Don't go just yet."
Forester turned back and advanced to the
foot of the bed. There was a high foot-board
at the foot of the bed, and Forester leaned upon
it with the lamp in his hand.
143
Marco in bed.
Forestcr about to go. 
144    i AR CO  P A U L IN V  a 
CofessI                                          r      rionc.
"Is there any thing that you want to say to
me?"
Marco was silent.  He looked distressed and
embarrassed, and moved his head restlessly on
his pillow.
There's something wrong, isn't there, Marco," said Forester, "that you are thinking
whether to confess to me or not?  If there is,
do just as you choose about it.  I like to have
you confess what you have done that is wrong,
but then, if you do it at all, it must be done of
your own accord."
"Well." said Marco, "I want to tell you
about my going away to play this forenoon."
"How long were you gone?" asked Forester.
"Pretty much  all the  forenoon," replied
Marco.
"Well," said Forester, "I am very glad you
concluded to confess it of your own accord, but
I know all about it."
Marco started up in his bed and looked his
cousin in the face, and said,
Why, cousin Forester, how did you know?"
To prove to you that I really did know, I
will tell you what you did. You got out of the
window soon after I went away, and went over
into Mr. Eldon's garden, where George Eldon
Forester's accouniit. 
A CONFESSION.          145
Marco much surprised.
and Samuel Warner were digging worms for
bait. Then you went with them down to the
liver. You hid behind them when you passed
in sight of the house, for fear that father would
see you, as he was out in the yard, pruning
trees. Then you went down to the river and
sat on a log under some bushes, fishing. After
a while you spied an old log canoe, drifting
down the river, and the other boys waded out
and got it. Then you all got into it and paddled about a while, and afterward got carried
over the rips and upset in the water. Your cap
drifted down the stream, antd you went after it
in the canoe and got it. After that, you took
off your stockings and wrung out the water
from themn, and then came home. You got into
the study only about a quarter of an hour before I came."
Marco listened to this minute account of his
adventures with eager interest, wondering how
his cousin could have obtained so early and such
complete information. After Forester had concluded, he paused a momient and breathed a
long sigh. Then he laid his head down upon
his pillow again, saying,
"Well, I don't see how you found it out; and
A CONFESSION.
145
TK 
146  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
A great mystery.                                 Where Forester went
I am sorry that you did, for I meant to have
told you all about it myself."
Marco seemed really disappointed at having
lost the opportunity to make his full confession,
but Forester told him that he considered that
he had made full confession.  "You made up
your mind to do it," said he, "and you did begin, and it was the beginning which required
all the effort. I only refrained from asking you
about the details, from a wish to show you that
I really knew all about it."
"I don't see how you found it out," said
Marco.  "I suppose it must have been that the
boys told you."
"No," replied Forester; "I have not seen
either of the boys, or heard any thing from
them, directly or indirectly."
" Then you must have watched me yourself,"
said Marco, "instead of going away."
"Do  you think," said  Forester,  "that  1
would pretend that I was going away, and then
just go out a little way and lie in wait to watch
you?"
" Why, no."-said Marco,-" I don't really
suppose that you would."
'No," said Forester, "I really went away
out of town. I went to visit a sick man and
A great mrstery.
Where Forester went 
A CONFESSION.
Marco's honesty.
help him make his will, and I did not return
until just before you saw me."
"Then  I don't see how you knew," said
Marco.
"It is of very little consequence to you to
know that," said Forester, "but I want to ask
you a little more about the affair. Are you
willing to answer any question that I may ask?"
Marco said that he was, and Forester asked
him about the circumstances which led him
to go away. Marco explained to him how he
saw the boys, and what he thought that they
were doing, and what induced him to go and see
them, and how he was prevented from coming
back as he had intended. There was an air of
openness and honesty in the manner in which
Marco related these facts, which convinced
Forester that he was telling the truth.
Forester was glad to find that it was not a
deliberate and preconcerted plan, between Mar
co and the other boys, to go off on this expedl.tion; for, bad as it was for Marco to allow himself to be drawn away by such temptations, it
would have been worse, or rather it would
have indicated a worse state of character. if he
had deliberately planned such a truancy.
" Well," said Forester, as he svas about to
147 
148  MIAR Co PAU L IN VERMONT.
PMarco concludes to be punished.
close the conversation, "I am very glad that
vou concluded to confess your fault. I am
very glad, too, that you did not go a-fishing this
afternoon under the sort of permission which I
gave you. I infer fiom these two things that
you wish to be cured of these faults, and to become a boy of firm morai principle. Now it is
a rule with me, generally, not to punish a boy
for -;v,at he confesses of his own accord.  Still,
I think it probable it would be better for you to
have some punishment for this. It would help
to make a strong impression upon your mind,
and make it much more easy for you to resist
such temptations in time to come. But you
may decide this question yourself.   If you
choose to submit to a punishment, and will tell
me so to-morrow morning, I will think of some
suitable one for you. If you do not say any
thing to me about it, I shall not punish you."
So saying, Forester bade Marco good night.
Thle next morning, Marco met Forester on
the stairs, as he was coming down to breakfast,
anal told him that he thought he should feel better to be punished.  So Forester reflected upon
the subject, and at nine o'clock, when Marco
went in to commence his studies, Forester told
him that lie had concluded upon his punirlshment.
Punishment proposed. 
A CONFESSION.
Solitary confinement.
" What is it to be?" said Marco.
"It is for me not to allow you to study," replied Forester, "all this forenoon, but to require
you to sit still at your desk, with nothing to do.
You see it will be a sort of solitary imprisonmnent, only your prison will in itself be a pleasant place."
Marco thought that this would not be a very
severe punishment, but he found, in enduring it,
that it was in fact much more severe than he
had imagined. He got very tired indeed, long
before the forenoon was out. He concluded
that solitary imprisonment for years, in a gloomy
dungeon, must be a terrible punishment indeed.
A year or two after this time, when Marco
had been entirely cured of all such faults, he
one day asked Forester to explain to him how
he knew where he went on this memorable
forenoon; and Forester willingly explained it
to him. It seems that Forester's father, though
a very gentle and kind-hearted man, was a verv
shrewd one, and having been accustomed to
the discovery, in the course of his practice, of
all sorts of pranks and roguery, was less disposed to place confidence in others till he knew
the confidence was deserved, than Forester
himself was, who  had less experience.  And
149
An explanation. 
15()  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
The way that Marco was found out.
when he knew that Forester had gone away,
leaving Marco alone, he doubted a little whether
he would remain industriously at his work.
While he was thinking of this, he heard a slight
noise which Marco made with his feet against
the clapboards of the house in getting out the
window. He therefore came into the study a
moment afterward, and found that Marco had
gone. He looked out the window and saw him
going off toward the other boys. Just at that
moment the man came to help him prune his
trees, but before he began this work he went
into the house to James, called him to a window and pointed out Marco to him, and said,
"I want you, James, to follow him, and keep
in sight of him until he returns, but if possible
don't let him see you. Say nothing to me
about it, but give my son Forester an account
of all that you observe."
James did as he was directed, and when Forester came back he told him the whole story,
just before Forester went into the study.   So
that Forester knew all about it, before Marco
saw  him.   James  managed  the affair very
adroitly, for he kept himself entirely out of sight
except in one instance, and that was when the
boys fell into the water. He then rushed to 
A  CONF ESSION.
Marco much perp1xed.                               Ilis conc11ions.
ward them for fear that they might be drowned,
but he stopped on the bank when he saw that
there was no danger, and disappeared again be.
fore Marco had time to recognize him.
151
Marco much perplexed.
His colclhsions. 
152   MARCo  PAUL IN VELRMMONT.
A boat's crew.                                        The coxswain.
CHAPTER IX.
BOATING.
HE  alterations and improvements, which
Forester had ordered in the boat, were
completed at the time promised. Marco said
that it would require a crew of eight to man
the boat properly: six oarsmen, a bowman,
and a coxswain. Marco pronounced this word
as if it was spelt coxen. This is the proper
way to pronounce it. It means the one who
sits in the stern, to steer the boat and direct the
rowers. In fact, the coxswain is the commander
of the boat's crew.
"I will be bowman," said Marco, "and you
can be coxswain, and then we shall want six
boys for oarsmen."
"You will have to explain to me then what
my duties will be," said Forester, "for I don't
even know what a coxswain is."
"Why, he's the commander," said Marco.
"He gives all the orders."
"Then you must be coxswain at first," said
Forester, " for I don't know any thing about it.
A boat's crew.
The coxswain. 
153
Boys invited.
A rrnrnnts.                                            Boys invited.
You have got to teach us all. Alter I have
learned to manage a boat with six oars, man-ofwar fashion, I should like to be coxswain some.
times very much. And it seems to me," added
Forester, "that you and I had better go down
first alone, until you get me taught, and then we
can get the boys to come afterward."
" O no," said Marco, "you'll all learn easily
enough together. I can tell you all exactly
what to do."
Forester acceded to this proposal, and they
made out a list of six boys, and Forester authorized Marco to invite them to come.  "Be sure,"
said Forester, "to tell their parents that we are
going out in a boat, and tell them that I am going too." Marco did this. The boys all gladly accepted the invitation. They came first to
the house, and then proceeded by a path, from
the foot of the garden, which led to the millpond. It was about half-past one when they
reached the boat.
Here there was a great scene of confusion. as
the boys all commenced talking and asking
questions together. They found the boat in
fine order, being perfectly tight and dry, and
the new seats being all in their places. The
oars, however, were not there. Forester re
BOAT ING.
Asrrang,emeints. 
154  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Oars.
commended to Marco to send a detachment of
his men, to go to the wagon-maker's shop and
get them. So Marco sent off three of the boys,
calculating very correctly that they could bring
two oars apiece. Before many minutes they
returned, each of the boys having two oars, one
on each shoulder.
The other boys immediately began to take
the oars, and they all advanced together toward
the boat, to get in.
"Stop," exclaimed Marco, "stop, boys! you
must not go aboard without an order. I'm coxswain; you must wait till I tell you, before one
of you goes aboard. John, come out."
John, who had stepped into the boat, came
back again on hearing this peremptory order,
and the boys waited on the bank. Marco then
told them to put the oars in. The boys began
to pitch them in, in confusion, some falling upon
the thwarts, and some into the bottom of the
boat.
"No,-stop," said Marco; "that isn't the
way. Put'em in in order."
"Yes, put'em in order," said John.  "Let's
put'em in order."
"Lay'em along the thwarts," said Marco)
"the blades forward."
Boys must wait for orders. 
Arrangement of the oars.       The recruits too eager.
Marco explained to the boys how to place
the oars. They were laid along the middle of
the thwarts so as to leave room to sit by the
side of them. They were placed in such a manner that the handle of one came upon each
seat.
"Aboard!" said Marco, in a military tone.
The boys did not understand that order, and
of course did not obey it.
"Aboard, I say!" repeated Marco; "when I
say Aboard, you must all get into the boat."
With this explanation of the word of command, the boys understood what they were to
do, and got aboard the boat as fast as they
could.   There was much  confusion  among
them in getting their seats. Several of them
began to take up their oars, until they were forbidden to do so by Marco, in a loud voice.
"You must not touch the oars," said he,
"until I say Toss.  Then you must take them
and toss them right up in the air."
" How?" said one of the boys, named Joseph.
"How, Marco?"
This question was scarcely heard amid the
confusion.
"Be silent, boys; don't talk, and don't stop
to ask how, but do just as I tell you."
BO ATING.
155 
156    MARCO   PAUL I1 N  V ER MONT.
Marco's exp.lantions.                             " Toss."
Marco was so much accustomed to the idea
which sailors attach to the word toss, and to the
manner in which they perform the evolution,
that he forgot how many different ways there
might be of tossing up an oar. The proper way
is, when.the command is given, for each oarsman to raise the blade of his oar quick, but
gently, into the air, letting the end of the handle
rest upon the thwart.  It is then in a position
to be let down into the water conveniently when
the next order, which is, Letfall, is given.
The raising of the oars, and then letting them
fall, all exactly together, by the crew of a man.
of-war's boat, makes a very pretty spectacle.
The boys, however, knew nothing about this,
for Marco, as it was all very plain and familiar
to him, did not realize the necessity of making
very minute explanations to such new recruits
as those that were under his command. Accordingly, when the order came to toss, some
of the boys sat still, looking at Marco, and not
knowing what to do; others raised their oars
into the air, some one way and some another;
and Joseph, who was a little discomposed by
the rebuff he had met with, concluded that he
would obey as literally as possible, let what
would come of it, and he gave his oar a high 
BOATING.                 157
Much noise.
toss into the air.
It fell at a short
distance from him
into the water,went
down for a moment
out  of sight,  and
then, shooting out
for half its length,
it fell over upon its
side and began to   A         a
float awvav.
Hereupon   ensued just  such a               TOSS.
scene of laughtelr
shouts, and confusion as might have been expected. All began to shout out exclamations
and orders, and to give directions how to proceed to recover the lost oar. The boys whose
oars were still left, thrust them confusedly into
the water, and began pushing, poking, and padSling with them, in order to get the boat out to
where Joseph's oar was floating.  All this time
Forester remained on the bank, laughing at
this specimen of nautical command and subordination.
After a time the oar was recovered, and
Marco, after much scolding and vociferation,
Confusion. 
158  MARCO PAUL IN VERMON''T.
New explanations.               The stroke-oarsman.
got his crew in order again. Forester said that
he would remain where he was, on the bank,
until Marco had tried his oarsmen a little.
So Marco went on giving his orders. He succeeded finally in getting the boys all in their
seats again, with their oars in their hands.
"Now, boys, mind," said he, " and I'll tell
you exactly what to do. Attention! When
I say Attention, you must all stop talking. Attention! Now you mustn't speak a word. You
must hold your oars out over the water and
have them all ready, the handles in your hands,
and when I say Give way, then you must all
begin to row, all together exactly, so as to keep
the stroke. You must keep the stroke with the
stroke-oarsman."
But the boys did not know who the strokeoarsman was, and they began clamorously to
inquire, notwithstanding the injunction to silence which they had received.   Marco explained to them that the stroke-oarsman was
the one who sat nearest to him, that is, the one
farthest aft. As the oarsmen were all sitting
with their backs toward the bow of the boat,
their faces were toward the stern, and therefore
the one who sat farthest aft could be seen by
tll the rest   This is the reason why the thwart 
BoATING.                                 159
Keeping the stroke.' Give wey.
which is farthest aft is made the seat of the best
oarsman, and the others are required to make
their motions keep time with his. For the oars
in a boat that is fully manned are so close together, that, unless they keep time exactly with
each other, the blades would cross and hit one
another in utter confusion. But if they keep
the stroke, as they call it, exactly together, all
goes right. For this reason the oarsman who
sits aft, by whose oar the movements of all the
other oars are to be regulated, is called the
stroke-oarsman.
The boys, however, knew nothing of all this.
Marco contented himself with giving one general direction to them, to keep the stroke with
the stroke-oarsman, and to begin when he gave
the order, " Give way." Accordingly, after all
were silent again, the oars being extended over
the water, and Forester standing on the bank
watching the operation, Marco called out in the
tone of command, "Give way!"
The boys immediately began to row, all looking at the stroke-oarsman, but failing entirely
to keep time with him. The oars thumped
against each other, crossed each other, and
made all manner of confusion. Some could not
get into the water, and others could not get out
BOATING.
159
Keeping the stroke.
I Give way." 
160  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Great confusion.                        "Oar.."
and  Joseph's oar,
C:~-~  &  which somehow or
....::.;..other  came  out too
.  -_ -- suddenly, while he
~a-~S~~,w a         s  pulling  hard
:  if~  upon it, caused him
:   to pitch backward
off his seat and
tumble over  into
the bottom of the
boat.
..-;   B'= —I: ~ " -Oars!"   said
BAD ROwING.        Marco, "OARS!
What    Marco
meant by oars they did not know, so they paid
no attention to the command, but some stopped
rowing in despair, while others kept on, banging
the blades of the oars against one another, and
plashing the water, but produced no effect
whatever in respect to propelling the boat.  In
the mean time the air was filled with shouts of
laughter and loud vociferations.
" Oars!" exclaimed Marco again, with the
voice of a colonel at the head of his regiment.
" Oars!  Whiy don't you stop when  I say
Oars?"
'The  h,)ys began  to stop, shouting to one 
BOATING X.
Fault in the commanader.
u'-othler, "Stop!" "Stop!"  In a few minutes
all was still again.  The boys began to take
their oars in. and one of them rose and said,
Pohl! this is all nonsense.  You can't d{(
any thing with oars.  I'd rather have one good
paddle than all the oars in New York."
In fact, iMarco himself began to despair.  He
uttered some impatient exclamations, and tried
to paddle the boat toward the shore. But he
found he was almost as awkward in managing
a paddle, as the other boys were in working
oars.  He succeeded, however, at last, in getti(ng the boat to the shore, and then he told the
boys that they might as well get out, for they
could not do any thing at all about rowing.
" You don't seem to get along very well,
Ajarco," said Forester; "what is the matter?"
"WVhy, I havn't got any crew. They don't
know any thing about it."
"It seems to me the fault is in the comrnman.
der," said Forester.
"In me?" said Marco.  " Why, I ordered
them right, but they wouldn't obey."
"Yes, your orders would have been right, if'
you had had a trained crew.  But you don't
maq.n~'Q i'n thQ right r.  y to toach  i\a'eCrUitS."
161
!:.rco's   d espai r. 
162  MARCo PAUL IN VERMONT.
Forester takes command.
" I \Nishi you would try, then, cousin Fores
ter," said Marco.
"Well," said Forester, "I have no objection
to try.  Boys, are you willing to have me for
commander?"
"Yes, sir," " Yes, sir," said all the boys.
"I shall be a great deal more strict than
Marco," said Forester.' So I don't expect
that you will like me. But I will try. I don't
wvant quite so many oarsmen to begin with; I
should rather teach a few at a time. Are there
any of you that would like to come ashore, and
let the rest practice first?"
None of the boys moved. They all wished
to practice first.  This was just as Forester expected.
"Very well," said Forester; "I know how I
can thin out my crew. As fast as I find that
you don't obey my  orders, I shall put you
ashore."
"But suppose we don't understand?" said
one of the boys.
"I shall explain fully beforehand what you
are to do.  And, Marco, you must observe how
I manage, and then you will know another time.
When you have got any thing to teach, the art
consists in dividing the lesson into a great many 
'hort steps.          Marco bowman.               Forester's managemenit.
very short steps, and letting your pupils take
one at a time."
Forester knew nothing about managing a
boat's crew until that day, but he had observed
very attentively all the orders which Marco
had given, and noticed their meaning, and thus
he was prepared to maneuver the boat as far
as MIarco had gone in giving his orders. He
accordingly stepped into the boat and took
Mlarco's place; while Marco  himself walked
forward and took his place at the bow of the
boat, saying that he was going to be bowman.
"3Marco," said Forester, "you say that when
the order is Attention, the crew must be silent;
what is the order when I want to give them
liberty to talk again?"
" Crew at ease," said Marco.
" Very well.  Now, boys, when I say Attention, you must be still, look at me, hear all I
say, and obey the orders as exactly as you can,
but ask no questions and give me no advice,
nor speak to one another, till I say, Crew at
ease. Then you can talk again. Perhaps two
or three of you will disobey, and I have no objection to that, as I should like some excuse for
putting some of you ashore."
Forester smiled as he said this, and every
BOATING.
163 
164,AR   PAuL  IA U  t  N   R M O N T.
Bovs very attentive.
bov determined that he would not be the one
to be sent ashore.
Altteztion!" said Forester.
Forester then put his paddle into the water
and paddled the boat out into the pond a little
wnay. WVhile he was doing this, there was a
dead silence on board the boat. Not a boy
spoke a word; and when, at last, Forester stopped paddling, the boat floated on a little way
gently through the water, and not a sound was
to be heard except the distant barking of a dog
on the opposite shore.
" Crew cit ease," said Forester.  The boys
laughed, changed their positions, and began to
tallk.
I didn't get any of you ashore then," said
Forester, "but I shall succeed the next time, for
I shall watch my opportunity when you are all
busv, talking, and say, Attention, suddenly; then
you will not all stop in an instant, but some will
go on just to finish their sentence, and this will
be disobeying the order, and so I shall get you
ashore."
Tihe boys laughed; they thought that it was
not very good policy for Forester to give them
this warning of his intention, as it put thiem all
upon their guard.  Presentlv the word of com 
i, )TIN (;.
Forester's good   q1111[    iio'( i11.
mand came very suddenly - " Attention!"
Every voice wvas hushed in an instant; the boys
assumed immediately an erect position, and
looked directly toward Forester.
Joseph," said Forester, " when I give order
TIoss, you are to take up your oar and raise the
blade into the air, and hold it perpendicularly,
with the end of the handle resting on the thwart
by your side, on the side of the boat opposite to
the one on which you are going to row,Toss!"
So Joseph raised his oar in the manner directed, the other boys looking on.
"Let it down again," said Forester.  Joseph
obeyed.
Cretw at ease," said Forester.
Forester acted very wisely in not keeping the
attention of the crew very long at a time.  By
relieving them very frequently, he made the
distinction between being under orders and at
ease a very marked and striking one, so that
the boys easily kept it in mind. In a few moments he commanded attention again, with the
same  success as  before.  He  then  ordered
another boy to toss his oar, then another, and so
on, until he had taught the movement to each
one separately He gave to each one such ex
,, "Ii
The boy-s leairni. 
166  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
The boys succeed.                    Forester teaches other mwuvers.
planations as he needed, and when necessary
he made them perform the evolution twice, so
as to be sure that each one understood exactly
what was to be done. Then Forester gave the
command for them all to toss together, and they
did so quite successfully. The oars rose and
stood perpendicularly like so many masts; while
Forester paddled the boat slowly through the
water. Then he directed the boys to let the
oars down again, gently, to their places along
the thwarts, and put the crew at ease.
The boys perceived now that they were
making progress. They were gaining slowly,
it is true, but surely, and Marco saw where the
cause of his failure was. He had not realized
how entirely ignorant all these boys were of
the whole mystery of managing an oar and of
acting in concert; and besides, he had not had
experience enough as a teacher, to know how
short the steps must be made, in teaching any
science or art which is entirely new.
In the same slow and cautious manner, Forester taught the boys to let the blades of their
oars fall gently into the water, at the command,
"Letjkal."  He taught one at a time, as before,
each boy dropping the blades into the water and
letting the middle of the oar come into the row
The boys succeed.
Forester teaches other manceuvers. 
BoATIl1NG.
Forester teaches them to row.
lock, while he held the handle in his hands
ready to row. Then, without letting them row
any, he ordered them to toss again; that is, to
raise the oars out of the water and hold them in
the air, with the end of the handle resting upon
the thwart.  He drilled them in this exercise
for some time, until they could go through it
with ease, regularity, and dispatch. Hle then
gave the order, " Crew at ease," and let the
boys rest themselves and enjoy conversation.
While they were resting, Forester paddled
them about. The boys asked him when he was
going to let them row, and Forester told them
that perhaps they had had drilling enough for
one day, and if they chose he would not require
any thing more of them, but would paddle them
about and let them amuse themselves. But
they were all eager to learn to row. So Forester consented.
He taught them the use of the oar, in the
same slow and cautious manner by which his
preceding instructions had been characterized.
He made one learn at a time, explaining to him
minutely every motion. As each one, in turn,
practiced these instructions, the rest looked on,
observing every thing very attentively, so as
to be readv w'heii their turn should cotme   At
1 6;7 
I(;    tl it U1 () P,A U L  IN  V E R M o N''.
CauLtio11.
lengthi, when they  had rowed separately, he
tried first two, and then four, and then six to,gether, and finally got them so trained that they
could keep the stroke very well. While they
were pulling in this manner, the boat would
shoot ahead very rapidly. When he wanted
them to stop, he would call out, " Oars." This
was the order for them to stop rowing, after
they had finished the stroke which they had
commenced, and to hold the oars in a horizontal
position, with the blades just above the water,
ready to begin again whenever he should give
the command.
At first the boys were inclined to stop immediately, even if they were in the middle of a
stroke, if they heard the command, oars.  But
Marco said that this was wrong; they must finish the stroke, he said, if they had commenced
it, and then all take tile oars out of the water
regularly together.  Forester was careful too
to give the order always between the middle and
the end of a stroke, so that the obeying of the
order came immediately after the issuing of it
By this means Forester could stop them in a
moment,  when  any thing went  wrong.  He
would order, " Give way," and then the boys
would all begin to pull their oars.  As soon as
Graduial prces. 
BOATiNG.            169
Marco's wishes.
any of themi lost the
stroke, or whenev-; (-:X0 --.
el, anv oars began      i                  -
to interfere, or any.;::- -.
other difficulty or'
accident occurred,
he would immediately give the order, "Oars." This 
would instantly arrest  the  rowing, 
before the difficulty became serious.           GD RON
Then, after a moment's pause he would say, " Give way," again,
when they would once more begin rowing all
together.  All this time, he sat in the stern and
steered the boat wherever they wanted to go.
Miarco wished to have  Forester teach the
boys how to back water, and to trail oars, and
to put the oars apeak, and to perform various
other evolutions. But Forester was very slow
in going on to new manceuvers before the old
ones were made perfectly familiar.  He accordingly spent nearly an hour in rowing about the
pond, tiup and down, to make the boys familiar
with the stroke.  He found, as is, in fact, uni
B ( 0A T I N G.
169 
170   MArl c A P )AUL  IN VEIXMONT.
Improvement of tho boys.
versally the case with beginners in the art of
rowing, that they were very prone to row faster
and faster, that is, to accelerate their strokes,
instead of rowing regularly, keeping continually
the  same  time.   They  gradually improved,
however, in respect to this fault, and by the
middle of the afternoon Marco began to think
that they were quite a good crew. They practiced several new evolutions during the latter
part of the afternoon, and just before tea time
they all went home, much pleased with the afternoon's enjoyment, and with the new knowledge and skill which they had acquired. Thevy
also planned another excursion the following
wveek. 
AN EXPEDITION.
An expedition planned.                          Duty of a bowmal).
CHAPTER X.
AN EXPEDITION.
ORESTER  and  Marco  got their boat s
crew well trained in the course of a week
or two, and one pleasant day in September they
planned a long expedition in their boat. The
boys collected at the house of the owner of the
boat, at one o'clock. Two of them carried a
large basket which Forester had provided. It
was quite heavy, and they did not know what
was in it; but they supposed that it was a store
of some sort of provisions for a supper, in case
they should be gone so long as to need a supper.
Forester carried a hatchet also.
At the proper word of command, the boys
got into the boat and took their several stations.
Marco took his place forward to act as bowman. It is the duty of the bowman to keep a
lookout forward, that the boat does not run into
any danger; and also, when the boat comes to
land, to step out first and hold it by the painter,
that is, the rope which is fastened to the bow,
while the others get out. Marco had a pole,
171
All expedition ptalned.
Duty of a bowman. 
1 -'2  lIARCO  PAIA,L iN V ERMON,iT.
Orders.                          Boys quite pleased.
wvith an iron spike and also an iron hook in the
end of it, which he used to fendi off with, as
they called it, when the boat was in danger of
running against any obstacle.  This was called
a boat-hook.
"Attention!" said Forester, when the boys
wvere all seated.
" Toss!"
Hereupon the boys raised the oars into the
air, ready to let them down into the water.
"Let fall!" said Forester.  The oars all fell
gently and together into their places.
Gire way!" said Forester.
The boat began immediately to glide rapidly
over the water, under the impulse which the
boys gave it in rowing.  " Crew at ease," said
Forester.
So the boys went on rowing, but understood
that they had liberty to talk. One of them
wished to know where Forester was going with
them; but Forester said it was entirely contrary to the discipline aboard a man-of-war for
the crew to ask the captain where they were
going.   "Besides," said Forester, "though I
could easily tell you, I think you will enjoy the
expedition more, to know nothing about it beforehand, but to take every thing as it comes." 
A EXP E   DITI  () N.
11'e boat aipproaches the ltn(l.
Forester steered in such a manner as to put
the head of the boat toward a bank at some
distance firom where they started, on which
there was a thick forest of firs and other evergreens, growing near the water. When they
got pretty near the land, he gave the order for
attention, that they might observe silence in
going through whatever manceuvers were required here. The next order was, Oars. At
this the oarsmen stopped rowing, and held
their oars horizontally over the water.  The
boat in the mean time was gliding on toward
the shore.
" Aboard!" said Forester.
The crew then gently raised their oars into
the air, and passed them over their heads into
the boat, laying them upon the thwarts in their
proper position, along the middle of the boat.
Bv this order the crew supposed that Forester
was going to land.
"Bear a hand, Mr. Bowman," said Forester,
"and fend off fromr the shore."
Forester, by means of his paddle, had steered
the boat up to a log which lay in the edge of
the water, and Mlarco, at first fending off froni
the log, to keep the boat fi-omrn striking hard, and
then holding on to it with his hook, got it into
I 173
11Fend o(ff.' 
174   MARCO P A UL I N VERMONT.
Mysterious dotogs.                Forester cots up the stem of the tree.
a good position for landing, and held it securely.
" Crew ashore," said Forester.
The crew, who had learned all these orders
in the course of the repeated instructions which
Forester and Marco had given them, began to
rise and to walk toward the bow of the boat
and to go ashore. Marco landed first, and held
the boat with his boat-hook, while the rest got
out. Forester then ordered Marco to make
the boat fast, until they were ready to embark
again.
Forester then went up in the woods a little
way, with his hatchet in his hand, and began to
look about among the trees. Finally, he selected a small tree, with a round, straight stem,
and began to cut it down. The boys gathered
around him, wondering what it could be for.
Forester smiled, and worked on in silence, declining to answer any of their questions. Marco said it was for a mast, he knew, but when
they asked him where the sail was, he seemed
perplexed, and could not answer.
As soon, however, as the tree was cut down,
it was evident that it was not intended to be
used as a mast, for Forester began at once to cut
it up into lengths of about two feet long. What
Mysterious doings.
Forester cuts up the stem of the tree. 
AN  EXPEDITION.
Boat proceeds.
could be his design, the boys were utterly unable to imagine. He said nothing, but ordered
the boys to take these lengths, one by one, and
put them into the boat. There were five in all.
Then he ordered the crew on board again.
Marco got in last. When all were seated, the
order was given to shove off, the oars were
tossed-then let fall into the water. He ordered them to back water first, by which manceuver
the boat was backed off from the land into deep
wlater.  Ti-en hle commanded them to give way,
and at the same time bringing the stern of the
boat round by his paddle, the boat was made to
slioot swiftly down the stream.
The boat went rapidly forward  along the
shores of the pond, and presently, on coming
round a wooded point, the mills appeared in
sight. As they approached the mills, they kept
pretty near the shore, aind at length landed just
above the dam.
Forester ordered the crew ashore, at a place
where there was a road leading down to the
water's edge. This road was made by the
teams which came down to get logs and lumber
from the water.  At Forester's direction, the
boys drew the bow of the boat up a little way
upon the land. Then he ordered the boys to
175 
1',Al           A  R s (I   I' A    ti L   1 N    -V E R  Vl  1, N!t.
take out the pieces of the stem of the little tree,
and he placed one of them under the bow as a
roller. The boys then took hold of the sides
of the boat, three on each side, each boy opposite to his own row-lock, while Marco stood
ready to put under another roller.  The ascent
was very gradual, so that the boat moved up
easily, and the boys were very much surprised
and delighted to see their boat thus running up
upon the land.
It seemed to them an exercise of great power to be able to take so large a boat so easily
and rapidly up such an ascent upon the land.
They were aided to do it by two principles.
One was the combination of their strength in
one united effort, and the other was the influence of the rollers in preventing the firiction of
the bottom of the boat upon the ground.
Presently the whole length of the boat was
out of water and resting on four rollers, which
MIarco had put under it, one by one, as it had
advanced.   Forester  would  then  call  out,
"Ahead  with  her-!" when  the boys would
miove about two steps. Then Forester would
give the command,'a Hold on," and they would
stop. By this time one of the rollers would
BPoat    dra  w Ul).
2 he rollers. 
AN    x P i i) i T I 0 N.
Boat taken round the falls.
come out behind,
and AIarco would   
take it up and cai-:
ry it  roun    d forwar.d, and place it
under the bow, and
Forester    would 
then say,  AltIead
it'lth   her,ioa ian,  L      
~~~iti~~~~~~~ lier!'' a~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!a~
and the boat Would
ininediately   advanllce  again  upl
the acclivity.              THE PORTAGE.
In a  very  few
minutes the boat was thus rolled up into a sort
of a road, where the way was level.  Here it
went very easily.  Presently it berganr to dcscend, and soon the boys saw that Forlester
was taking a sort of path which led by a gentle
slope down to the water immediately below the
mill. They were very much pleased at this, for,
as they had had a great many excursions already on the mill-pond, they had become fainiliar with it in all its parts, and they were
much animated at the idea of exploring new
re(gions.  In going down to the water on the
owrer side of the mill. they had, of course, no
PI
I li7 
178   MARCO  PAUL IN  V: E  RI c
Down hill.
exertion to make to draw the boat, as its own
weight was more than sufficient to carry it
(lown upon the rollers. They only had to hold
it back to prevent its running down too fast,
and to keep it properly guided.
"It goes down pretty easy," said Marco;
"but I don't see how you are ever going to get
it back again."
It was, in fact, a long and rather steep descent. The boys thought that it would require
far more strength than they could exercise, to
bring the boat up such an inclination. Forester told them not to fear. He said that a
good commander never put too much upon his
men, or voluntarily got them into any difficulty
without planning beforehand a way to get out.
They soon got down to the water's edge
again. Here, instead of the broad and smooth
pond which they had above the dam, they found
a stream eddying, and foaming, and flowing
rapidly down between rocks and logs. There
was a bridge across the stream too, a short distance below. The boys were a little inclined
to be afraid to embark, in what appeared to be
a rather dangerous navigation, but they had
confidence in Forester, and so they readily
obeyed when Forester ordered the crew aboard.
Rapid currentD. 
AN EXPEDITION.
Bridge.                                                       Ti'ailing oars.
"Now, Mr. Bowman," said Forester, " keep
a sharp lookout ahead for rocks and snags, and
fend off well when there is any danger."
So Marco kneeled upon a small seat at the
bow of the boat, and looked into the water before him, while Forester propelled and guided
the boat with his paddle.   They  advanced
slowly and by a very tortuous course, so as to
avoid the rocks and shallows, and at length,
just above the bridge, they came to a wider and
smoother passage of water: and here Forester
ordered the oars out. There was only room
for them to take four or five strokes before they
came to the bridge, and under the bridge there
was only a very narrow passage where they
could go through. This passage was between
one of the piers and a gravel bed. As they advanced toward it, Forester called out, "Give
way strong!" and all the boys pulled their oars
with all their strength, without, however, accelerating the strokes. This gave the boat a rapid
headway, and then Forester gave the order to
trail, when the boys simultaneously lifted the
oars out of the row-locks and let them drift in
the water alongside of the boat. As the boat
was advancing very swiftly, the oars were immediately swept in close to her sides, and thus
179
Trailing oars.
Bridge. 
180 MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
"Recover."                           Oars apeak.
were out of the way, and the boat glided safely
and swiftly through the passage, and emerged
into a broader sheet of smooth water beyond.
"Recover!" said Forester.  The boys then,
by a peculiar maneuver which they had learned
by much practice brought back their oars into
the row-locks, and raised the blades out of the
water, so as to get them into a position for rowing.  " Give way!" said Forester, and imnmediately they were all in motion, the boat gliding
swiftly down the stream.
After they had gone on in this way a few
minutes, Forester ordered the oars apeak, and
put the crew at ease. When the oars are apeak,
they are drawn in a little way, so that the
handle of each oar may be passed under a sort
of cleat or ledge, which runs along on the inside of the boat near the upper edge of it.
This keeps the oar firm in its place without the
necessity of holding it, the handle being under
this cleat, while the middle of the oar rests in
the row-lock. Thus the oarsmen are relieved
from the necessity of holding their oars, and yet
the oars are all ready to be seized again in a
moment, whenever it becomes desirable to commence rowing.
Meantime the boat slowly drifted down the 
AN EXPEDITION.
Boat goes down stream.                                A council of war.
stream. The water was here deep and comparatively still, and the boys amused themselves
with looking over the sides into the depths of
the water. They glided noiselessly along over
various objects,-now a great flat rock, nrow a
sunken tree, and now a bed of yellow sand.
Every now and then, Forester would order the
oars out, and make the oarsmen give way for a
few strokes, so as to give the boat what they
called steerage way, that is, way through the
water, so that holding the paddle in one position or the other would steer it. In this way
Forester guided the boat in the right direction,
keeping it pretty near the middle of the stream.
This mill-stream, as has already been stated,
emptied into the river, and the boat was now
rapidly approaching the place of junction. In
a few minutes more the river came into view.
The boys could see it at some distance before
them, running with great rapidity by a rocky
point of land which formed one side of the
nouth of the brook.
"Now, boys," said Forester, "is it safe for
us to go out into that current?"
Yes," said Marco, "by all means,-let us
go.
181
Boat goes down stream.
A council of war. 
282  MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
A little mathematics.
"Perhaps we shall upset in the rips," said
some of the boys.
" No matter if we do," said Marco;  "it is
not deep in the rips, and of course there is no
danger."
"That is in our favor certainly," said Forester.
Whenever the current sets strong, there it is
sure to be shallow, so that if we upset we should
not be drowned; and where it is deep, so as to
make it dangerous for us to get in, it is always
still, and thus there is no danger of upsetting."
"What is the reason of that?" said one of
the boys.
" The reason is given in this way," said Forester, "in the college mathematics. The velocity of a stream is inversely as the area of the
section."
The boys did not understand such mathematical phraseology as this, and so Forester clothed
his explanation in different language. He said
that where the stream was shallow or narrow,
the current must be more rapid, in order to get
all the water through in so small a space, but
where it is deep, it may move slowly.
Forester landed his crew upon the rocky
point, where they had a very pleasant view up
and down the river. He proposed to them to 
AN EXPEDITION.
The encampment.                    The silver mug.
have their luncheon there, and to this they
agreed. So they went back to the edge of the
rocks, where there was a little grove of trees,
and they sat down upon a log which had been
worn smooth by the action of the water in
floods, and bleached by the sun.
There were plenty of dry sticks and slabs
lying about upon the shore, which Forester ordered the crew to collect in order to build a
fire. It was not cold, and they had no need of
a fire for any purposes of cooking, but a fire
would look cheerful and pleasant, and they
accordingly made one. Forester had some
matches in his pocket.   Two  of  the crew
brought the basket from the boat, and when
they had opened it, they found an abundant
store of provisions.   There was a dozen or
more of round cakes, and a large apple-pie,
which, as there were just eight of themn, gave
forty-five degrees to each one. There was also
a jug of milk, and a silver mug, which Forester's
mother had lent them for the excursion, to drink
out of.
The boys, whose appetites had been sharpened
by their exertions in the portage of the boat
round the falls, and in rowing, did not cease to
eat until the provisions were entirely exhausted,
183 
184   M{'ARCO  PAUL  IN AERHIONv.
An absolute government.
and then they carried the empty basket back to
the boat. Soon after this, Forester summoned
what he called a council of war, to consider the
question whether they had better go down the
river. He said he wanted their true and deliber ate judgment in the case. He did not wish them
to say what they would like, merely, but what
they thought, on the whole, was best.  He told
them that he should not be governed by their
advice, but, after hearing all that they had to
say, he should act according to his own judgment.
"Then wvhat's the use of asking us at all?"
said Marco.
"WYhy, what you will say may modify my
judgment.  I did not say that I shall decide
according to my judgment as it is now, but as
it will be after I have heard what you will
have to say. I shall be influenced perhaps by
your reasons, but I shall decide myself. That
is the theory of a council of war. The commander may be influenced by the arguments
of his subalterns, but he is not governed by
their votes."
Forester then called upon each of the boys,
in succession, to give his opinion on the point.
Mlarco was in favor of going down the river, but 
:AN EXP EDITION.
Tucy embark again.                                       The river.
all the rest, though they said that they should
like to go very much, thought it would not
answer, as it would be almost impossible to get
the boat up again over the rips. After tile
consultation was concluded, Foirester said,
"Well, boys, you have all given wise opinions
except Marco, and his is not wise.  Now we'll
go aboard the boat."
"Crew aboard!" said Forester.  The other
orders followed in rapid succession: Attention!
Toss! Let fall!  Back water!  Oarss!  Give
way!  The boys considered it settled, on hearing what Forester had said of the wisdom of
their several opinions, that they were now going
back toward the mill; but how they were going
to get the boat back above the damrn they did not
know, though they did not doubt that Forester
had some good plan which he had not explained
to them. Instead, however, of turning the head
of the boat up the stream, Forester pointed it
toward the river. They supposed that he was
going out to the edge of the river, and that then
he would turn and come back; but, to their
utter amazement, he pushed boldly on directly
into the current, and then, putting his helm
hard up and calling out to the crew to give
way strolln,r, tile boat swep)t rouinl into the very
185
Tiley embark again.
The river. 
186   MAR Co P AUL IN VE R MONT.
The rips.
center of the stream  and shot down the river
over thle rips like an O r
'iHE EXPEDITION.
Give way, boys, hearty," said Forester.
" Give way strong."
The boys pulled with all their strength, and
the boat went swifter and swifter.  Forester
kept it in the middle of the current, where the
water was deepest, though even here it was
very shallow.  Marco, in the mean timne, who
was stationed at the bows, kept a sharp lookout 
A  I I'I ION.                187
Forester goes down the stream.
The boys surprised.                   Forester goes down the steam.
forward, and gave Forester notice of any impending danger. They soon got through the
rips and came to the deep and still water below,
where the current was gentle and the surface
smooth. Here Forester ordered the oars apeak,
and the crew at ease.
" We never shall get back in the wvorld," said
one of the boys; "forty men couldn't row the
boat up those rips."
"Let us try,' said Forester.  So he ordered
the oars out again, and put the boat under way.
He brought her head round so as to point up
stream, and calling upon the crew to give way
strong, he forced her back into the rapid water.
They went on a few rods, but long before they
reached the most rapid part, they found that
with all their exertions they could make no progress.  The boat seemed stationary.  "Oars,"
said Forester. The boys stopped rowing, holding their oars in the air, just above the water.
Forester then, by means of his paddle, turned
the boat round again, saying, "Well, if we can't
go up, we can go down stream."  He then ordered the crew to give way again, and they
began to glide along swiftly down the river.
The boys wondered h-ow Forester was going
to get back. but hle told them to give themselves
AN Expi,
The boys surprised. 
188   AIARCO PAUL  IN'V }RIMONT.
He wvill not explain.
no concern on that score.  "That responsibility
rests on me," said he.
"But how came you to come down here,"
said Marco, "when you said mr advice wasn't
good?"
"I said your opinion was not wise.  The
boys who advised me not to come were wiser
than you.  They gave better advice, so far as
they and you understood  the case.   But I
know something which you do not, as is usual
with commanders,-and therefore I came down.
In view of all that you know, it would have
been wisest to have gone back, but in view of
all that I know, it is wisest to come down."
The curiosity of the boys was very much excited to know what it could be that Forester
knew which rendered coming down the river
wise; but Forester would make no explanations.
Hie said that commanders were not generally
very communicative to their crews.   In the
mean time the boat went on, sometimes shooting swiftly through the rapids, and sometimes
floating in a more calm and quiet manner on
the surface of the stiller water.  In this way
they went on more than a mile, enjoying the
voyav'e lery highly, and admiring the varied 
AN  ExPEDI'TION.
The return of the boat.
scenery which was presented to their view at
every turn of the stream.
At one place the boys landed upon a small
sandy beach under some overhanging rocks.
They amused themselves in climbing about the
rocks for a time, and then they were ordered
aboard again, and sailed on.
Nowv it happened that the river, in the part
of its course over which this voyage had been
performed, took a great circuit, and though they
had followed its course for more than a mile,
they were now drawing near to a place which
was not very far from Forester's father's house,
-being about as much below it, as the place
where the boat belonged in the mill-pond was
above it. As they approached the point where
the river turned again, Marco, who was looking
out before, saw a sort of landing, where there
was a man standing, together with a yoke of
oxen. It was just sunset when they approached
this spot. \When they arrived at it, the whole
mystery was explained, for they found that the
man was James, who lived at Forester's father's,
and the oxen were his father's oxen. James
had come down, under an appointment which
Forester had secretly made with him, with the
189
A pleasant voyage. 
1'()O.1C         PA', 1        IN   \  Ett M IONr.
Bloat hauled across to the mill-pond.
oxen and  a drag,
...''and by means of
j    ~       them he hauled the
boat across to the
mill-pond again, bv
~,'~', ~:.:a back road which
A;N  1          Q  ~~led directly across
the pastures,  and
lanched  it  safely
again into the wa                            ter  close  to  the
.......- dwelling   of  its
THE DRAG.          owner.    So  the
boys had, as it
were, the pleasure of sliding down hill, without
the labor of drawing their sleds up again.
Marco was very much pleased with this expedition. Forester told him when they got
home, that the Indians often carried their
canoes around falls, or from one river to another, and that such carrying-places were called
portages.
Portages. 
LosTer IN T1E         WOO D S.
,'4arco and ices.             *Jmes's                Marco's requests.
i HA I'' E R   X I.
L o S T  IN'r H EI    0  0 DS.
HILE  Alarco Paul was, in Ve-rmont, he
and Forester had aretna:kable adventure
in the woods. They got lost in fact, and for a
time it seemed quite doubtful how they were
ever to find their way home.  It happened thei.
One morning in the fall of the year, Marco,
walking along toward the barn with  James,
asked James what he was going to do that day.
"I expect that I am going to gather apples,"
said James.
"\Well," said Marco.  "Are you going in the
cart?"
"Yes," said James.
' And may I go with you?" asked Marco.
" Yes," said James.
"And help gather the apples? said Marco.
"Yes," said James.
And drive the oxen a little way?" asked
Marco.
Yes,  said James.
191
Marco and Jamliies.
J    pll;s   ain.
Alarcols requests. 
192   M AR CO PAUL IN  VERMONT.
'lhe goadstick.           Quiestion to be settled.
Well." said Marco.   "I will run and get
mny goad-stick."
MaLico went toward the house intending to
go in a(nd get his goad-stick.  On his way he
met his uncle.  His uncle asked him whether
James was out in the barn.  MIarco said that
he was, and his uncle then asked him to go and
request James to come to him. Marco did so,
an(t he and James then came along toward the
house together.
Marco's uncle stood upon  the step of the
door.
"James," said he, "I was thinking that we
ought to send for the horses;-and the apples
ought to be gathered too.  Which is it best to
do?"
"I hardly know, sir," said James.  "It is high
time that the apples were gathered, and yet we
promised to send for the horses to-day."
"I can go and get the horses," said Marco,"just as well as not. Where is it?"
"Oh no," said his uncle.  "It is ten or fifteen
miles from here. Isn't it, James?"
"Yes," said James, "by the road.  I suppose
it is about four miles through the woods. I
was intending to walk there, through the woods,
and then to come home round by the road. It
The horsI. 
L (o S v   _  1  i L  W    0 o D S.
,5arco's propesz:. 0o Forester.
is rather a rough road for horses through the
woods."
, Let cousin Forester and me go," said Marco.  "I will go and ask him."
So Mfarco went and found Forestel.  Wfhen
Forester heard of the plan he was quite inclined
to accede to it. He had been much engaged
in studying for some time, and had had  very
little exercise and recreation, so that he was
easily persuaded to undertake an expedition.
The plan  was all soon  agreed upon.   The
horses had been put out to pasture at a farmer's up thie river about twelve miles. In going
that tw\elve miles the river took a great turn, so
that in fact the farm where the horses were
pastured was not, in a straight line, more than
four nmiles from MIr. Forester's house. But the
intermediate country was a desolate and almiost
impassable region of forests and mountains.
There was, indeed, a sort of footpath by which
it was possible for men to get through, but this
path wvas dangerous, and in fact almost inipracticable for horses.  So James had formed the
plan of walking through the woods by the path,
and then of coming home by the road, riding
one of thie horses and leading the other.
Forester and MNarco concluded to adop)t the
193
Feorester accedes to it. 
19-1  MAIARCo  P.tU L IN  V ERAIONT.
The wvyl.            The school-house il the Jones district.
same plan; except that in coming home there
w-ould be just a horse a-piece for them to ride
Thiey put up some provisions to eat on the way,
packing them in MAarco's knapsack.  The knapsack, when it was ready, was strapped upon Marco's back, for he insisted on carrying it. Forester consented to this arrangement, secretly
intending, however, not to allow Marco to carlrv the load verv far.
Forester asked James if there would be any
difficulty about the way.  James said that there
would not be. The path, though it was not an
easy one to travel, was very easy to find.
"You go on," said he, "along the back road
about three quarters of a mile, and then you
will come to a small school-house on the left
hand side of the road, on a sort of hill. It is in
the Jones district."
" What sort of a school-house is it?" asked
Forester.
"It is a small school-house, with a little cupola upon the top of it," said James, "for a bell.
It stands upon a knoll by the side of the road.
Just beyond it the main road turns to the right,
and there is a narrower road leading off to the
left thlrou-gh a gate.  You must go through that
gate and then follow the path into the roods." 
LOST IN THE -WOODS.
Ttsrongh the garden and orchird.         Apples.         Back road.
" We can find it, I think," said Forester.
"Yes," said Marco, "I know the place very
well."
Forester said he thought that they should
find the way without any difficulty, and so bidding his uncle and aunt good-bye, he and Marco set out.
They went through the garden, and from the
garden they passed out through a small gate
into the orchard. Marco wished to go this way
in order to get some apples. He chose two
from off his favorite tree and put them into the
knapsack, and took another in his hand to eat
by the way. Forester did the same, only he
put the two that he carried with him, into his
pockets.
From the orchard the travelers walked across
a field and down into the glen, and after crossing a brook upon some stepping-stones, they
ascended upon the other side, and presently
climbing over a fence, they came out into what
James had called the back road. They walked
along upon this road, for about three quarters
of a mile, until at last they came in sight of the
school-house.   Marco spied it first.
"There," said Marco,  "that is the schoolhouse."
195
Through the garden and orchard.
Apples.          Back road. 
1')6  AIARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
School-districts.  Squirrel trap.     Thomas Jones.
How  do you know that that is the one?"
asked Forester.
, Oh, I know the Jones district very well,"
said liarco.
In New  England the tract of country ineluded within the jurisdiction of a town, is divided into districts for the establishment and
support of schools.   These districts are called
school-districts, and each one is generally named
from some of the principal families that happen
to live in it. It happened that there were several families of the name of Jones that lived in
this part of the town, and so their district was
called the Jones district.
"How do you happen to know it?" said For
ester.
"Oh, I came out here two or three times with
Thomas Jones to set my squirrel trap," said
Marco.  "There goes Thomas Jones now."
-Where?" asked Forester.
"There,"  said Marco, pointing along the
road a little way.
Forester looked forward, and saw in the road
before them a boy walking toward the schoolhouse, with his slate under his arm. Beyond
the boy, upon the knoll on the left side of the
road, waIn the school-house itself. 
LOST  IN TIHE   VWOODS.
The school-house.        The great gate.        Going through the bars.
The school-house
was  not far firom   i- WA
the road, and there --:        ltC.      -.
was a little grove 
of trees behind it.
Beyond the school- -,:~house, and almost: -
directly     before -
them, Marco  and.
Forester  saw  the
road turning a little,
to the left toward 
the gate.                   THE SCHOOL-HOUSE.
There  is  the
gate,' said Aliarco, "that we are to go through."
"Yes," said Forester, "that must  be the
one."
Forester and  Marco  walked on until they
came to the school-house. Thomas got to the
school-house before them, and went in. Forester and Marco passed on and went through
the gate. They then went on beyond the gate
a little way till they came to a pair of bars.
Marco took down all but the topmost bar, and
Forester, stooping down, passed under. Marco
attempted to do the same; but forgetting that
he had a knapsack upon his back, he did not
197 
198   MIARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
stoop lowv enough, and gave his knapsack such
a knock as almost threw him down. Fortunately there was nothing frangible inside, and
so no datmige was done.  One of his apples was
mniellowed a little; that was all.
The path led the travelers first across a rough
and rocky pasture, and then it suddenly entered
a wood where every thing wore an expression
of wild and solemn grandeur. The trees were
very lofty and consisted of tall stems, rising to
a vast height and surmounted above with a tuft
of branches, which together formed a broad
canopy over the heads of the travelers, and
produced a sort of somber twilight below.
Birds sang in plaintive notes on the tops of distant trees, and now and then a squirrel was
seen running along the ground, or climbing up
the trunk of some vast hemlock or pine.
"I hope that we shall not lose our way in
these woods," said Forester.
' Ohi, there is no danger of that," rejoined
Marco. " The path is very plain."
"It seems plain here," said Forester, " and I
presume that there can not be any danger, or
James would have recommended to us to go
the other way."
"We shall come home the other way," said
Conversation.
The woods.
Birds. 
L OS T I N  T H E W O O D S. 
Rough road.                          The great chasm.
Marco.   " I wonder if there are any saddles.
Twelve miles would be too far to ride bareback."
"Yes," said Forester, "' there are saddles.   I
asked James about that."
The path which Forester and Marco were
pursuing soon began to ascend.  It ascended at
first gradually, and afterward more and more
precipitously, and at length began to wind
about among rocks and precipices in such a
manner, that Marco said he did not wonder at
all that James said it would be a rough road for
horses.
I think it is a very rough road for boys,"
said Forester.
Boys?" repeated Marco.   "Do  you call
yourself boys."
"For men then," said Forester.
"But I am not a man," said Marco.
"Then I don't see how I can express my
idea," said Forester.
Marco's attention was here diverted from
the rhetorical difficulty in which Forester had
become involved, by a very deep chasmt upon
one side of the path.  He went to the brink of
it and could hear the roaring of a torrent far
below.
I mean to throw a stone down," said Marco.
199 
-00   M.lrACu PAUL, IN  VLER:iJONT.
o.,I uonexpected difficulty.
He accordingly, alter looking around for a
moment, found a stone about as large as his
head.  This stone he contrived to bring to the
edge of the precipice and then to throw it over.
It wvent thundering down among the rocks and
trees belown, while Marco stood upon the brink
and listened to the sound of the echoes and reverberations. He then got another stone larger
than the first, and threw that down; after which
he and Forestelr resumed their journey.
The path, though it was a very rough and
tortuous one, was pretty plain; and it is probable that the travelers would have found no
difficultv in following it to the end of their
route, had it not been for an occurrence which
they had not at all anticipated, but wvhich was
one, nevertheless, that has often taken place to
confuse the steps of mountain  travelers and
make them lose their way.  This occurrence
was a fall of snow.
It was not late enough in the year for snow
upon the lowlands, but snow falls very ea':ly in
the autumn upon the summits of mountains.
Marco and Forester had not anticipated stormy
weather of any kind, when they left home;
for the wind was west and the sky was clear.
W hen, however, they had accomDlished about
5Ir-co relIs stores down. 
LOST IN THE WOOD
s.            201
Forester anxious.
one half of their journey, large masses of fleecy
clouds began to drive over the mountains, and
presently, all at once, it began to snow. Marco
wvas extremely delighted to see the snow falling.
Forester was not so much pleased.   On the
other hand, he looked somewhat concerned.
He did not at first think how the snow could
do them any serious injury, but he seemed to
have an undefined sense of danger from it, and
appeared uneasy. They both, however, walked
on.
The region through which the path led at the
time when the snow came on, was a tract of
flat land on the summit of the mountainous
range, with small and scattered trees here and
here upon it.  The best thing, probably, for
the travelers to have done in the emergency
would have been to have turned round the moment it began to snow, and go back as fast as
possible by the way that they came, as long as
they were sure of the path, and then to wait until
the fallen snow had melted. If they found then
that the snow did not melt, so that they could
see the path again, it would be better to return
altogether, as their chance of being able to follow the path back toward their home would be
much greater than that of pursuing it forward;
Sinow squall.
51arco pleased. 
202   MARCO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Thoy 1)ress forward.                                The flakes of snow.
for they might expect to find some guidance, in
going back, by their recognition of the place
which they had passed in ascending.
Forester, however, did not happen to think
of this; and so when it began to snow, his only
immediate desire was to go forward as fast as
possible, so as to get into the woods again where
he and MIarco would be in some measure under
shelter.
Marco finding that Forester appeared somewhat anxious, began to feel some sentiment of
fear himself.
"Who would have thought," said he, "that we
should have got caught out in this snow-storm?"
"Oh, it is not a snow-storm," replied Forester. "It is only a little snow flurry. It will
be over in a few minutes."
"How do you know that it is not going to be
a snow-storm?" asked Marco.
"Because storms never come  out of the
west," replied Forester.
It snowed, however, faster and faster, and
the ground soon began to be entirely whitened.
Forester pressed on, but he soon found himself
at a loss for his way. The air was so filled
with the descending flakes, that he could see
only a very short distance before him.  The
They press forward.
The flakes of snow. 
LOST IN THE WOODS.                        203
ed.                       Under the hemlock-tree.
Grouind covered. Under the hemlock-tree.
view of' the tforests and mountains was cut off
on every side, and nothing presented itself to
the eye but the dim forms of the rocks and trees
which were near. These, too, were indistinct
and shapeless. The ground was soon entirely
covered, and all hope of finding the path entirely disappeared. Forester went back then a
short distance, endeavoring to retrace his steps.
He followed the foot-prints a little way, but all
traces of them were soon obliterated. When
he found that the steps could no longer be seen,
he went toward a tree which he saw rising
dimly at a little distance before him.  The tree
proved to be a large hemlock, with wide-spreading branches. There was a place under this
tree where the ground was bare, having been
sheltered from the snow by the branches of the
tree. There were some rocks too lying under
this tree. Forester walked up to them and sat
down. Marco followed his example.
"Well, Marco,"  said  Forester,  "we  are
really lost."
"And what are we going to do?" asked Marco, with a countenance of great concern.
" The first thing is," said Forester, "to open
the knapsack, and see what there is inside that
is good to eat." 
20-1  MIARCO  PAULI, IN VERMONT.
TIe lueiheon.          A consuiltation.        Camping out.
So Forester took the knapsack off from his
shoulders,-for he had taken it from Marco
some time before, and laying it upon a large
flat stone by his side, he began to open it, and
to take out the provisions.
Forester was afraid that he and Marco had
got themselves into somewhat serious difficulty,
but he wished to teach Marco that in emergencies of such a nature, it would do no good to
give way to a panic, or to unnecessary anxiety.
So he assumed an unconcerned and contented
air, and made arrangements for the luncheon,
just as if they had stopped there to eat it of
their own accord, and without being in any
difficulty whatever about the prosecution of the
jourliney.
.,Marco, however, seemed to be quite uneasy.
"What are we going to do?" said he.  "If
we get lost in this snow-storm, we shall have to
stay in the woods perhaps all night."
'; Yes," said Forester, "that we can do.  We
have done that before."
Forester here alluded to an occasion on which
he and Marco had spent the night in a hut in
the woods, when traveling in Maine.
"But we had an axe then," said Marco, "to
make a camp." 
LOST  IN THE WOOD-S.
Three chances.       Cha:ofe     finding the path.     Second chance.
,Yes,"  replied Forester, "that is true.   I
don't think, however, that we shall have to stay
in the woods all night now.   We  have three
chances for avoiding it."
" WVhat are the three?" said Marco.
" Wihy, in the first place," replied Forester,
we can stay where we are until it stops snowing,-in fact it has almost stopped now.   Then
I presume that the sun will come out, and in
half an hour melt away all the snow. Then we
can find our path again, and go on."
"But I don't think it is certain that vwe can
find our path again," said Marico.
"Nor do I," said Forester, "but thlere's a
chance of it. I did not say that we had three
certainties, but three chances."
" Well," said Marco;  "go on; what are the
other two?"
"If we can not find the path," said Forester,
either because the snow does not melt, or for
ally other reason, then we can remain where
we are until night, and the people, finding that
wve (lo not come home, will send up for us."
"And how can they find us?" asked Marco.
" Why, they will come up the path, of course,
and we can not be very far from the path, for
wie only lost it a few minutes before wit cause
205 
206  MARcO PAUL IN VERMONT.
Following a brook down.
here. Of course they will come up very near
to this place;-and they will come shouting out,
every few minutes, as loud as they can, and so
we shall hear them."
" Yes," said Marco, " I see; that is a pretty
good chance."
" The third chance for us," said Forester, "is
to go down into the first glen or valley that we
can find, and then we shall probably come to a
stream. Then we can follow the stream down
to the river."
"How do you know that it goes to the river?"
asked Marco.
" All mountain streams do, of course," said
Forester. "They go down wherever they can
find a valley or a hollow,-joining together and
taking in branches as they proceed,-until they
get down into the level country, and then they
flow to the nearest river, and so to the sea.
Now I know that the river takes a bend around
this mountainous tract, and almost surrounds it,
and all the streams from it must flow into the
river without going very far. We could follow one down, though we should probably find
the way very rough and difficult."
" Let us try it," said Marco.
This plan was decided upon, and so, when
Third chance. 
LOST IN THE WOODS.
They conclude to go on.     The plan succeeds.      Way very rough.
the snow squall was entirely over and the sun
had  come  out  Marco  and  Forester,  taking
their departure firom the great tree and guiding
their course by the sun, the travelers set out,
proceeding as nearly in a straight line as possible, intending to go on in that manner until
they should come to some stream, and then to
follow the stream down to the river. The plan
succeeded perfectly well. They soon descended
into a valley, where they found a little brook
flowing over a bed of moss-covered stones.
They followed this brook down for about a mile,
when they came to a junction between the
brook that they were following and another
one.  After this junction of course the stream
was larger, and in many places they found it
difficult to get along. The way was encumbered with bushes, rocks, and fallen trees, and
in one place the stream flowed in a foaming
torrent through the bottom of a deep chasm,
with sides rising directly out of the water.
Here the travelers were obliged to find a way
at a distance from the brook-guiding themselves, however, by the sound of its roaring.
After passing the chasm, they got back to the
stream again.
They came out into the open country about
207 
208    iIA1RCO  PAUL IN VERMONT.
The ride home.          M~arco's account of his adventures.
one o'clock, and found to their great joy that
they were very near the place where the horses
were pastured. The horses were all ready for
them, and Forester and Marco mounted them
immediately, and set out on their return home.
It was very pleas    _  ___?-_- _... i ant riding along at
their ease on horse
- L X F A part of the way
the road which they
atook lay along the
shoire of the river.
Marco enjoyed this
TiE RIDE.    part of theride very
much indeed.
Thev reached ho,.iie ahbout sunset, with an
excellent appetite for supper.   Marco was very
enthusiastic in his manner of giving his aunt
Forester an account of his adventures, and he
said, in conclusion, that he would just as lief
get lost in the woods as not. It was good ftin.
i