Minnesota weekly times. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1859, 1856-09-06

rLEc AND OTHER MATTERS.

DEAR TINES: Elec and have been bathing in
the Lake, and had a delightful time. 1t has been
so warm since noon that even the pure, invig-
Grating waters Of Crystal Bay produce only a
temporary elevation in the quicksilver of the
animal economy. An hour since Elec was putting
and blowing like a sea-horse,- feats in
posturing that might excite the envy of practiced
gymnast-and now he lies peaceably asleep under
the naples. 1t was good as play to see him
come up from the water and, mounted upon u
a rock, relieve his exuberant feelings in thrill
ing apostrophe to the genius of this great ked-
entry" and the fishes of Minnetonka Lake
especially the latter. And am sure, if the said
piscinal inhabitants inherit three grains of patri-
otism, they will be suitably impressed; for, al
though he presented nothing but the naked truth,
his appeals conveyed a subtitle aattery which could
not fail to tickle the most demure of fishes; and
they were embellished too, by delivery that
needed only graceful drapery of the Roman toga
to make it truly Ciceronian. After the immediate
effects of the bath had subsidized the young athlete
threw himself on his back upon the grass and
quickly slumbered and it is this favorable mo-
ment of rest and quiet that now seize upon to
resume my narrative of Elec's experience in the
backwoods.
Our friend has become in q measure natural
lied; he has come to regard himself rs one of
the institutions-as part of the system. TO be
sure, he suffered in the flesh and was sore in the
spirit before he could assimilate; but he has now
not only recovered his wanton health and genial
humor, but he has learned to fellowship with the
trees and rocks,-with the chip-munk and the
mud-turtle,-the wood-tick, the grasshopper and
fuzza- guzzy; to sympathize with our loved Lake
when it reposes in placid beauty, and to feel a
quickened pulse when the raging surf wrecks its
ever advancing columns on the affrighted shore.
He has become familiar with the pelican the loon,
and the heron.-with the wild-rose and the mea-
lily.
l knew he would eventually "come around,''
and being to the "manor BORN" took many occa-
sons to crafty his love of excitement and danger.
Nature first subdued him, and then drew him
gently to her heart. She made him grope like an
infant in the rusting forest at midnight, and sent
the storm-king to fash lightnings in his eyes.
She let the satyrs of the wood decoy him through
thickct, marsh and fen they displaced his tile.
tore his Clothes tripped up his HEELS and scourged
him with myriads of gallinippers. The night-owl
croaked its malignant refrain in his ear. The very
air distilled cold terror. Monstrous shapes
leered from behind gnarled oaks; and the demons
of the rock dashed the dark waters till they
cd in tragic chorus. Then morning
came. The south-wind, freighted with the breath
of sweet-briar and honeysuckle, bathed his brow
with dewy zepAyrs. The waves put on sivery
CLEAN, and with regretful tenderness caressed the
pebbles at his feet The trees stretched out their
friendly arms, and the scent of every humble
herb and flower as like word Of love.
This is the way nature always deals with the
artful citizen, over powers then woos him. Elec
is now a most devot ed worshipper. His prisons
are made with the birds, when with Memnon notes
they greet the purple east; and his mathis are
intoned with the gentle heaving of his canoe,
as it glides through the pale, brooding twilight
Twilight With this hour are embalmed the
sweetest memories of youth and childhood-al
the &C kindred points of heaven and of home.''
And to be out on the Lake at this time is to enjoy
period of dreamy happiness-of calm, self
complacent satisfaction: the sun has gone down.
and the stars do not glimmer yet; the jutting
headlands crowned with the hazy cedar; the
graceful shores embowered in the over-hanging
foliage; the tall naples, guardians of the holy
night, standing in solemn bIack,-and all objects,
even the roseate hues that edge the grey clouds
hanging iu the west, seem spectrally passing into
the supernatural, and one almost thinks himself
in the land of souls. At such an hour docs Elec
love to be on the Lake.
He loves to be on the Lake too, when the wind
is high, and the swels curve their white crests.-
With full bcllying sails and firm hand on the
helm, he likes to have his little boat careen till
her vale kisses the feam; and in this style ride
down the waves, as he expresses it, with bone
in her teeth. ii.