The Ponds
n
Note: The title "Ponds" is written in
pencil in E, in ink in F, at the top of the leaf containing Ponds 1a. (R. Clapper)
SOMETIMES, having had a surfeit of human society and gossip,
and worn out all my village friends, I rambled still farther westward than I habitually
dwell,
"to fresh woods and pastures new"—into yet more
unfrequented parts of the town—to solitary swamps and meadows, and pine woods & oak-thickets
and rocky pastures
"to fresh woods and pastures new"—into yet more
unfrequented parts of the town—to solitary swamps and meadows, and pine woods & oak-thickets
and rocky pastures
"to fresh woods and pastures new"—into yet more
unfrequented parts of the town—to solitary swamps and meadows, and pine woods & oak-thickets
and rocky pastures
"to fresh woods and pastures new"—into yet more
unfrequented parts of the town—to solitary swamps and meadows, and pine woods & oak-thickets
and rocky pastures
into yet more unfrequented parts of the town, "to fresh woods and pastures new"
and solitary swamps and meadows
into yet more unfrequented parts of the town, "to fresh woods and pastures new"
and solitary swamps and meadows
into yet more unfrequented parts of the town, "to fresh woods and pastures new"
and solitary swamps and meadows
into yet more unfrequented parts of the town, "to fresh woods and pastures
new,"
or, while the sun was setting,
I made
I made
I made
I made
I made
I made
I made
made
my supper of huckleberries and blueberries on Fair Haven Hill,
and laid up a store for several days.
The fruits do not yield their
true flavor to the
mere purchaser
mere purchaser
mere purchaser
purchaser
of them,
nor do they
nor do they
nor do they
nor
to him who raises them for the market. There is but one way to obtain
them, yet how
them
it yet how
them
it yet how
it, yet
few take that way. If you would know the flavor of huckleberries, ask the cow-boy
or the
huckleberry bird
partridge.
huckleberry bird
partridge.
huckleberry bird
partridge.
partridge.
It is a vulgar error to suppose that you have tasted huckleberries who never
picked
plucked them where they grew
from the bushes
plucked them from the bushes
where they grew
plucked them from the bushes
where they grew
plucked them.
What are huckleberries on the market? He that would know their flavor must
taste them on the hill. Ask the huckleberry bird. A huckleberry
What are huckleberries on the market? He that would know their flavor must
taste them on the hill. Ask the huckleberry bird. A huckleberry
What are huckleberries on the market? He that would know their flavor must
taste them on the hill. Ask the huckleberry bird. A huckleberry
A huckleberry
never reaches Boston; they have not been known there since
they disappeared from Beacon Hill
last they grew on her three hills
they disappeared from Beacon Hill
last they grew on her three hills
they disappeared from Beacon Hill
last they grew on her three hills
they grew on her three hills.
The ambrosial
part of the fruit, that which feeds the genius.
for every good fruit has its ambrosial part
that which makes the taste immortal to a degree
& essential part of the fruit
& essential part of the fruit
and essential part of the fruit
is lost with the bloom which is rubbed off in the market cart, and they become mere
provender.
As long as Eternal Justice reigns not one innocent huckleberry can ever be
transported thither from the country’s hills
As long as Eternal Justice reigns not one innocent huckleberry can ever
be transported thither from the country’s hills
As long as Eternal Justice reigns not one innocent huckleberry can ever
be transported thither from the country’s hills
As long as Eternal Justice reigns, not one innocent huckleberry can be transported thither from the
country’s hills.
Sometimes
Or else
Sometimes
Or else
Sometimes
Or else
Sometimes
Or else
Occasionally, that is when there was occasion for fish
Sometimes
Sometimes
Occasionally
Sometimes
Occasionally
Occasionally,
after my hoeing was done for the day, I joined some impatient companion who had been
fishing
since morning on the pond,
since morning on the pond,
since morning on the pond,
since morning on the pond,
since morning on the pond,
since morning on the pond since morning
since morning on the pond since morning
on the pond since morning,
as silent and motionless as a duck or a floating leaf,
who
who
who
who
who
who
and
who
and
and,
after practising various kinds of philosophy, had concluded commonly, by the time
I arrived,
that he belonged to the ancient sect of Cœnobites.
There was one older man,
a capital
an excellent
a capital
an excellent
a capital
an excellent
an excellent
fisher and skilled in all kinds of woodcraft, who was pleased to look upon my house
as a
building erected for the convenience of fishermen; and I was equally pleased when
he sat in my doorway
to arrange his
reels
lines
reels
lines
reels
lines
lines.
He left his boat in my charge, and we frequently
Once in a while we
He left his boat in my charge, and we frequently
Once in a while we
He left his boat in my charge, and we frequently
Once in a while we
Once in a while we
sat together on the pond, he at one end of the boat, and I at the other; but not
many words
passed between us, for he
was somewhat deaf and the harmony of our intercourse was
uninterrupted
in his later years
was somewhat deaf and the harmony of our intercourse was
uninterrupted
in his later years
was somewhat deaf and the harmony of our intercourse was
uninterrupted
in his later years
had grown deaf in his later years,
but he occasionally hummed a psalm, which harmonized well enough with my philosophy.
Our intercourse was one of unbroken harmony & far more
pleasing to remember than if it had been disturbed by the harshness of speech.
Our intercourse was one of unbroken harmony & far more
pleasing to remember than if it had been disturbed by the harshness of speech.
Our intercourse was one of unbroken harmony & far more
pleasing to remember than if it had been disturbed by the harshness of speech.
Our intercourse was thus altogether one of unbroken harmony, far more pleasing
to remember than if it had been carried on by speech.
When, as was commonly the case, I had none to
talk
commune
talk
commune
talk
commune
commune
with, I used to raise the echoes by striking with a paddle on the side of my boat,
filling the
surrounding woods with circling and dilating sound, stirring them up as the keeper
of a menagerie his
lions & tigers
lions & tigers
lions & tigers
wild beasts,
until I elicited or obtained
until I elicited or obtained
until I elicited or obtained
until I elicited
a growl from every wooded vale and hill-side.
Or sometimes at an early hour in the evening
In warm evenings
Or sometimes at an early hour in the evening
In warm evenings
Or sometimes at an early hour in the evening
In warm evenings
Or sometimes at an early hour in the evening
In warm evenings
Or sometimes at an early hour in the evening
In warm evenings
Or sometimes at an early hour in the evening
In warm evenings
Or sometimes at an early hour in the evening
In warm evenings
In warm evenings
I
frequently
sat in
my boat on the pond
my boat on the pond
my boat on the pond
my boat on the pond
my boat
my boat
my boat
the boat
playing the flute, and saw the perch, which I seem to have charmed, hovering around
me, and the
moon travelling over the ribbed bottom,
strewn
strewn
strewn
strewn
which was strewn
which was strewn
which was strewn
which was strewed
with the wrecks of the forest.
Formerly I had come
to this pond adventurously, from time to time, in dark summer nights, with a companion,
and,
building
building
building
making
a fire close to the water’s edge, which we thought attracted the
fish angled for
fishes we caught
fish angled for
fishes we caught
fish angled for
fishes we caught
fishes, we caught
pouts with a bunch of worms strung on a thread; and when we had done, far in the
night,
we threw
we threw
we threw
threw
the burning brands high into the air like skyrockets, which, coming down into the
pond, were
quenched with a loud
sizzlingnoise
sizzlingnoise
sizzlingnoise
hissing,
and we
would find
found ourselves suddenly in the dark
total darkness through which
would find
found ourselves suddenly in the dark
total darkness through which
would find
found ourselves suddenly in the dark
total darkness through which
were suddenly groping in total darkness. Through this,
whistling a tune, we took our way to the haunts of men again. But now I had made
my home by the
shore.
Occasionally,
Sometimes
Occasionally,
Sometimes
Occasionally,
Sometimes
Occasionally,
Sometimes
Occasionally,
Sometimes
Occasionally,
Sometimes
Occasionally,
Sometimes
Sometimes,
after staying in a village parlor till the family had all retired, I have returned
to the woods,
carrying perchance a bag of rye or Indian meal from the store upon my
shoulders and
carrying perchance a bag of rye or Indian meal from the store upon my
shoulders and
carrying perchance a bag of rye or Indian meal from the store upon my
shoulders and
carrying perchance a bag of rye or Indian meal from the store upon my
shoulders and
and partly with a view to the next day’s meal
and partly with a view to the next day’s meal
and partly with a view to the next day’s meal
and, partly with a view to the next day’s dinner,
spent the hours of midnight fishing
in a boat on the pond
in a boat on the pond
in a boat on the pond
in a boat on the pond
from a boat on the pond
from a boat on the pond
from a boat on the pond
from a boat
by moonlight, serenaded by owls and
the barking of foxes,
the barking of foxes,
the barking of foxes,
the barking of foxes,
the barking of foxes,
the barking of foxes,
the barking of foxes,
foxes,
and hearing, from time to time, the
note of the woodcock or the booming of snipes a mile off circling over river meadows,
or the croak of a bittern
note of the woodcock or the booming of snipes a mile off circling over river meadows,
or the croak of a bittern
note of the woodcock or the booming of snipes a mile off circling over river meadows,
or the croak of a bittern
note of the woodcock or the booming of snipes a mile off circling over river meadows,
or the croak of a bittern
note of the woodcock or the booming of snipes a mile off circling over river meadows,
or the croak of a bittern
some unknown bird
note of the woodcock or the booming of snipes a mile off circling over river meadows,
or the croak of a bittern
some unknown bird
note of the woodcock or the booming of snipes a mile off circling over river meadows,
or the croak of a bittern
some unknown bird
creaking note of some unknown bird
close at hand. These
private hours
private hours
private hours
private hours
private hours
experiences
private hours
experiences
private hours
experiences
experiences
were very memorable and valuable to me,—anchored in forty feet of water, and twenty
or thirty rods
from the shore, surrounded sometimes by thousands of small perch and shiners, dimpling
the surface with
their tails in the moonlight,
and
communicating by a long flaxen line with mysterious
vespertinal
vespertinal
vespertinal
vespertinal
vespertinal
vespertinal
vespertinal
nocturnal
fishes which had their dwelling forty feet below, or sometimes dragging sixty feet
of line about
the pond as I drifted in the gentle night
air,
air,
air,
air,
air,
wind
breeze
air,
wind
breeze
air,
wind
breeze
breeze,
now and then feeling a slight vibration along it, indicative of some life prowling
about its
extremity, of dull uncertain blundering purpose there, and slow to make up its mind.
At length you slowly
raise, pulling hand over hand, some horned pout squeaking and squirming to the upper
air. It was very queer,
in dark
in dark
in dark
in dark
in dark
especially darker
in dark
especially darker
in dark
especially darker
especially in dark
nights, when your thoughts had wandered to vast and cosmogonal themes in other spheres,
to feel
the
this faint
the
this faint
the
this faint
the
this faint
the
this faint
the
this faint
the
this faint
this faint
jerk, which came to interrupt your dreams and link you to Nature again. It seemed
as if I might
next cast my line upward into the air, as well as downward into this element which
was
hardly
hardly
hardly
hardly
hardly
hardly
hardly
scarcely
more dense.
Thus I caught two fishes as it were with one hook, or rather a fish and a
bird
Thus I caught two fishes as it were with one hook, or rather a fish and a
bird
Thus I caught two fishes as it were with one hook, or rather a fish and a
bird
Thus I caught two fishes as it were with one hook.
The scenery of Walden is on a
very humble
very humble
very humble
humble
scale,
and, though very beautiful, does not approach to grandeur, nor can it much concern
one who has
not long frequented it or lived by its shore; yet this pond is so remarkable for its
depth and purity
as to merit a particular description. It is a clear and deep green well, half a mile
long
and about a mile
and about a mile
and about a mile
and a mile
and three quarters in circumference,
containing
and contains
and contains
and contains
and contains about
sixty-one and a half acres;
a perennial spring in the midst of pine
and oak
and oak
and oak
woods, without any visible inlet or outlet
but
but
but
but
but
but
but
except
by the clouds
and by evaporations
and by evaporations
and by evaporations
or by evaporation
or by evaporation
or by
and evaporation
or by
and evaporation
and evaporation.
The surrounding hills are from 50 to a hundred and in one place perhaps 200
feet high
generally from 50 to 75 feet high though in one place they rise to the height of about
150
feet & for the most part they [are] covered with wood
The surrounding hills are generally from fifty to seventy-five feet high,
though in one place they rise to the height of about one hundred and fifty feet, and
for the
most part they are
rise abruptly from the water & are from
40 to 80 feet high, though on the southeast & east they attain the height of about
one
hundred & fifty feet respectively within a quarter &⅓ of a mile. They are for
the most part covered with wood
The surrounding hills rise abruptly from the water to the height of
from 40 to 80 feet, though on the southeast & east they attain the height
of
to about 100 & 150 feet respectively within ¼ and ⅓ of a mile. They are for
the most part covered with wood
exclusively woodland
The surrounding hills rise abruptly from the water to the height of
from 40 to 80 feet, though on the southeast & east they attain the height
of
to about 100 & 150 feet respectively within ¼ and ⅓ of a mile. They are for
the most part covered with wood
exclusively woodland
The surrounding hills rise abruptly from the water to the height of forty to
eighty feet, though on the south-east and east they attain to about one hundred and
one hundred
and fifty feet respectively, within a quarter and a third of a mile. They are exclusively
woodland.
In their colors all waters follow the sky, i.e. it depends on the light. In
fair
clear weather all waters that I know appear blue at a little distance, especially
if agitated—but they are also a peculiar color which is most apparent in calm weather
or when
you look closely into their depths. True to its nature between earth & air Walden
is both
green & blue—let clear serene weather come to illustrate its depths & it is green
like the grass, sometimes even when viewed from the hill tops—let the air descend
on it and
toss up its surface in waves and it is blue like the sky. All
In their colors all waters follow the sky, i.e. it depends on the light. In
fair
clear weather all waters that I know appear blue at a little distance, especially
if agitated—but they are also a peculiar color which is most apparent in calm weather
or when
you look closely into their depths. True to its nature between earth & air Walden
is both
green & blue—let clear serene weather come to illustrate its depths & it is green
like the grass, sometimes even when viewed from the hill tops—let the air descend
on it and
toss up its surface in waves and it is blue like the sky. All
In their colors all waters follow the sky, i.e. it depends on the light. In
fair
clear weather all waters that I know appear blue at a little distance, especially
if agitated—but they are also a peculiar color which is most apparent in calm weather
or when
you look closely into their depths. True to its nature between earth & air Walden
is both
green & blue—let clear serene weather come to illustrate its depths & it is green
like the grass, sometimes even when viewed from the hill tops—let the air descend
on it and
toss up its surface in waves and it is blue like the sky. All
In their colors all waters follow the sky, i.e. it depends on the light. In
fair
clear weather all waters that I know appear blue at a little distance, especially
if agitated—but they are also a peculiar color which is most apparent in calm weather
or when
you look closely into their depths. True to its nature between earth & air Walden
is both
green & blue—let clear serene weather come to illustrate its depths & it is green
like the grass, sometimes even when viewed from the hill tops—let the air descend
on it and
toss up its surface in waves and it is blue like the sky. All
All
our Concord waters have
one color
one color
one color
two colors at least, one when
one color
two colors at least, one when
two colors at least, one when
viewed at a distance, and another, more
proper to themselves
viewed near> close
proper to themselves
viewed near> close
proper to themselves
viewed near> close
proper to themselves
viewed near> close
proper, close
at hand.
The first
commonly
depends on the light
The first
commonly
depends on the light
The first depends more on the light & follows the
sky
The first depends more on the light & follows the
sky
The first depends more on the light, and follows the sky.
In clear weather,
all our Concord waters
they
all our Concord waters
they
in summer they
in summer they
in summer, they
appear blue at a little distance, especially if agitated, and at a great distance
all appear alike.
In stormy weather they are sometimes of a dark slate-color,
perhaps
In stormy weather they are sometimes of a dark slate-color,
perhaps
In stormy weather they are sometimes of a dark slate color.
The sea, however, is said to be blue one day and green another without any perceptible
change
in the
weather
weather
weather
atmosphere
weather
atmosphere
atmosphere.
Also I have seen our river when the landscape being covered with snow, both
water & ice were almost as green as grass.
Also I have seen our river when the landscape being covered with snow, both
water & ice were almost as green as grass.
I have seen our river, when, the landscape being covered with snow, both water
and ice were almost as green as grass.
Some consider blue "to be the color of pure water, whether
liquid or solid."
Forbes A writer on glaciers considers
Some consider blue to be the color of pure water, whether liquid or solid
Some consider blue "to be the color of pure water, whether
liquid or solid."
Forbes A writer on glaciers considers
Some consider blue to be the color of pure water, whether liquid or solid
Some consider blue "to be the color of pure water, whether liquid or
solid."
But, looking directly down into
them
the former
them
the former
the former
our waters
the former
our waters
our waters
from a boat, they are seen to be of very different colors. Walden is
thus both blue and green at different times
thus both blue and green at different times
thus both blue and green at different times
blue at one time and green at another
thus both blue and green at different times
blue at one time and green at another
blue at one time and green at another,
even from the same point of view. Lying between the earth and the heavens, it partakes
of the
color of both.
Viewed from a hill top it reflects the color of the sky, is blue in the
depths & green in the shallows, or rather close to the shore, for there are no other
shallows;
but a vivid green near the shore but from a boat when the surface is calm
it is seen to be of a uniform dark green
Close
But near at hand, it is of a yellowish tint next to the shore, where you can see the
sand, its waters have a yellowish tint, next
then a light green, gradually deepening to a uniform
dark green in the body of the pond. Viewed from a hill top it reflects the color of
the sky,
is blue in the depths, but in some lights even from a hill
top a vivid green next the shore , but from a boat, when the surface is calm it is
seen to be of a uniform dark green
Viewed from a hill top it reflects the color of the sky, but viewed
near at hand, it is of a yellowish tint next to the shore, where you can see the
sand, then a light green gradually deepening
which gradually deepens to a uniform dark green in the body of the pond. In some
lights, viewed even from a hill top, it is of a vivid green next the shore
Viewed from a hill top it reflects the color of the sky, but viewed
near at hand, it is of a yellowish tint next to the shore, where you can see the
sand, then a light green gradually deepening
which gradually deepens to a uniform dark green in the body of the pond. In some
lights, viewed even from a hill top, it is of a vivid green next the shore
Viewed from a hill-top it reflects the color of the sky, but near at hand it is
of a yellowish tint next the shore where you can see the sand, then a light green,
which
gradually deepens to a uniform dark green in the body of the pond. In some lights,
viewed even
from a hill-top, it is of a vivid green next the shore.
Some have referred
the more obvious greenness next the shores
the more obvious greenness next the shores
this
as seen from the hills
the more obvious greenness next the shores
this
as seen from the hills
the more obvious greenness next the shores
this
as seen from the hills
this
to the reflection of the verdure; but it is equally green there against the railroad
sand-bank,
and in the spring, before the leaves are expanded,
and it may be simply the result of the prevailing blue
mixed with the yellow of the sand. As if it were the simple
simply the result of the prevailing blue being mixed with the sand
—which combination produces green
and it may be simply the result of the prevailing blue
mixed with the yellow of the sand. As if it were the simple
simply the result of the prevailing blue being mixed with the sand
—which combination produces green
and it may be simply the result of the prevailing blue mixed with the yellow of
the sand.
Such is the color of its iris.
Such is the color of its iris.
Such is the color of its iris.
Such is the color of its iris.
Such is the color of its iris.
This is that portion,
also
which
where
also
which
where
also
which
where
also
which
where
also, where
in the spring,
the ice
the ice
the ice
the ice
the ice
being warmed by the heat
of the sun
reflected from the bottom, and also transmitted through the earth, melts first and
forms a
narrow canal about the still frozen
middle.
middle.
middle.
middle.
middle.
Like
any water,
any water,
any water,
the rest of our waters
any water,
the rest of our waters
the rest of our waters,
when much agitated,
apparently
apparently
apparently
apparently
in clear weather,
so that the surface of the waves may reflect the sky at the right angle, or because
there is
more light mixed with it, it appears at a little distance of a darker blue than the
sky itself;
& At such a time
& At such a time
and at such a time, being on its surface, &
and at such a time, being on its surface, &
and at such a time, being on its surface, and
looking with divided vision, so as to see the reflection, I have discerned a
most glorious but
matchless and
most glorious but
matchless and
most glorious but
matchless and
most glorious but
matchless and
matchless and
indescribable light blue,
as on watered-silk or a sword-blade
such as watered or changeable silks and sword-blades are made to
imitate, may suggest
as on watered-silk or a sword-blade
such as watered or changeable silks and sword-blades are made to
imitate, may suggest
as on watered-silk or a sword-blade
such as watered or changeable silks and sword-blades are made to
imitate, may suggest
as on watered-silk or a sword-blade
such as watered or changeable silks and sword-blades are made to
imitate, may suggest
such as watered or changeable silks and sword blades suggest,
more cerulean than the sky itself, alternating with the original dark green on the
opposite
sides of the waves, which last appeared but muddy in comparison.
It is of a
It
But without describing it particularly Walden is of a
It is of a
It is of a
It is a
vitreous greenish blue, as I remember it, like those patches of the winter sky seen
through
cloud
cloud
cloud
cloud
cloud
vistas in the west before sundown. Yet a single glass of its water held up to the
light is
almost as colorless
almost as colorless
almost as colorless
almost as colorless
as colorless
as an equal quantity of air.
It is well known that a large plate of glass will have a
green tint, owing, as the makers say, to its "body," but a small piece of the same
will be
colorless. How large a body of Walden water would be required to reflect a green tint
I have
never proved. So it is well known a large plate of glass will have a green
tint, owing to its body, but a small piece of the same will be colorless. How large
a body of
Walden water would be required to reflect a green tint I have never proved
do not know
It is well known that a large plate of glass will have a
green tint, owing, as the makers say, to its "body," but a small piece of the same
will be
colorless. How large a body of Walden water would be required to reflect a green tint
I have
never proved. So it is well known a large plate of glass will have a green
tint, owing to its body, but a small piece of the same will be colorless. How large
a body of
Walden water would be required to reflect a green tint I have never proved
do not know
So
It is well known likewise that a large plate of glass will have a green
tint, owing, as the makers say, to its body, but a small piece of the same will be
colorless.
How large a body of Walden water would be required to reflect a green tint I have
never
proved
So
It is well known likewise that a large plate of glass will have a green
tint, owing, as the makers say, to its body, but a small piece of the same will be
colorless.
How large a body of Walden water would be required to reflect a green tint I have
never
proved
It is well known that a large plate of glass will have a green tint, owing, as
the makers say, to its "body," but a small piece of the same will be colorless. How
large a body
of Walden water would be required to reflect a green tint I have never proved.
The water of
the
the
the
our
the
our
our
river is black or a very dark brown to one looking
directly
directly
directly
down on it, and, like that of most ponds, imparts to the body of
one bathing in it
the bather
one bathing in it
the bather
the bather
one bathing in it
the bather
one bathing in it
one bathing in it
a yellowish tinge; but this water is of such crystalline purity that the body of
the bather
appears of an
alabaster or chalky
alabaster or chalky
alabaster or chalky
alabaster or chalky
alabaster
whiteness,
equally
equally
equally
still more
equally
still more
still more
unnatural, which, as the limbs are magnified and distorted withal, produces a
monstrous and ogre-like
monstrous and ogre-like
monstrous and ogre-like
monstrous and ogre-like
monstrous
effect, making fit studies
for the genius of
for the genius of
for a
for a
for a
Michael Angelo.
It
The water is so pure and clear
transparent that the bottom can easily be seen in
at the depth of 25 or 30 feet of water
It
The water is so pure and clear
transparent that the bottom can easily be seen in
at the depth of 25 or 30 feet of water
It
The water is so pure and clear
transparent that the bottom can easily be seen in
at the depth of 25 or 30 feet of water
It
The water is so pure and clear
transparent that the bottom can easily be seen in
at the depth of 25 or 30 feet of water
The water is so transparent that the bottom can easily be seen
discerned at the depth of twenty-five or thirty feet
The water is so transparent that the bottom can easily be seen
discerned at the depth of twenty-five or thirty feet
The water is so transparent that the bottom can easily be seen
discerned at the depth of twenty-five or thirty feet
The water is so transparent that the bottom can easily be discerned at the
depth of twenty-five or thirty feet.
Paddling over it you may see several feet beneath the surface large
the
schools of perch perhaps only an inch long yet easily distinguished by their transverse
bars & you think
they must be ascetic fish that get their find a subsistence there
Paddling over it you may see several feet beneath the surface large
the
schools of perch perhaps only an inch long yet easily distinguished by their transverse
bars & you think
they must be ascetic fish that get their find a subsistence there
Paddling over it you may see several feet beneath the surface large
the
schools of perch perhaps only an inch long yet easily distinguished by their transverse
bars & you think
they must be ascetic fish that get their find a subsistence there
Paddling over it you may see several feet beneath the surface large
the
schools of perch perhaps only an inch long yet easily distinguished by their transverse
bars & you think
they must be ascetic fish that get their find a subsistence there
Paddling over it you may see several
many feet beneath the surface the schools of perch & shiners, perhaps
only an inch long, yet the former
easily
easy to be distinguished by their transverse bars, and you think
that
they must be ascetic fish that find a subsistence there
Paddling over it you may see several
many feet beneath the surface the schools of perch & shiners, perhaps
only an inch long, yet the former
easily
easy to be distinguished by their transverse bars, and you think
that
they must be ascetic fish that find a subsistence there
Paddling over it you may see several
many feet beneath the surface the schools of perch & shiners, perhaps
only an inch long, yet the former
easily
easy to be distinguished by their transverse bars, and you think
that
they must be ascetic fish that find a subsistence there
Paddling over it, you may see many feet beneath the surface the schools of
perch and shiners, perhaps only an inch long, yet the former easily distinguished
by their
transverse bars, and you think that they must be ascetic fish that find a subsistence
there.
Once,
in the winter, many years ago, when I had been cutting holes through the ice in order
to catch
pickerel, as I stepped ashore I
heaved my axe
the axe—it was my father’s axe—
my axe
heaved my axe
the axe—it was my father’s axe—
my axe
heaved my axe
the axe—it was my father’s axe—
my axe
heaved my axe
the axe—it was my father’s axe—
my axe
heaved my axe
the axe—it was my father’s axe—
my axe
heaved my axe
heaved my axe
tossed my axe
back on to the ice, but, as if some evil genius had directed
it, it
it, it
it, it
it, it
it, it
it, it
it, it
it, it
slid four or five rods directly into one of the holes, where the water was
twenty
twenty
twenty
twenty
twenty
twenty
twenty
twenty-five
feet deep. Out of curiosity, I lay down on the ice and looked through the hole,
when
until
when
until
when
until
when
until
when
until
when
until
when
until
until
I saw the axe a little on one side, standing on its head, with its helve erect and
gently
swaying to and fro with the pulse of the pond; and there it might have stood erect
and swaying till in
the course of time the handle rotted off, if I had not
disturbed it, Is a thing lost when you know where it is—and how to get
it?
disturbed it, Is a thing lost when you know where it is—and how to get
it?
disturbed it, Is a thing lost when you know where it is—and how to get
it?
disturbed it, Is a thing lost when you know where it is—and how to get
it?
disturbed it, Is a thing lost when you know where it is—and how to get
it?
disturbed it, Is a thing lost when you know where it is—and how to get
it?
disturbed it, Is a thing lost when you know where it is—and how to get
it?
disturbed it.
Making another hole directly
over the axe
over the axe
over the axe
over the axe
over the axe
it
over the axe
it
over the axe
it
over it
with an ice chisel which I had, and cutting down the
longest birch which I could find in the neighborhood
with my knife, I made a slip-noose, which I attached to
the
its
the
its
the
its
the
its
its
end, and, letting it down carefully, passed it over the knob of the handle, and drew
it by a
line along the birch, and so pulled the axe out
again.
When I got home I told the story to my father, but I stopped
short of the place where the axe slid into the hole, and gave it up for lost, & then
to his surprise I produced it
again.
When I got home I told the story to my father, but I stopped
short of the place where the axe slid into the hole, and gave it up for lost, & then
to his surprise I produced it
again.
When I got home I told the story to my father, but I stopped
short of the place where the axe slid into the hole, and gave it up for lost, & then
to his surprise I produced it
again.
When I got home I told the story to my father, but I stopped
short of the place where the axe slid into the hole, and gave it up for lost, & then
to his surprise I produced it
again.
The shore is composed of a belt of smooth rounded white stones
like paving stones, excepting one or two short sand beaches, and is so steep that
much of the way
in many places
much of the way
in many places
much of the way
in many places
much of the way
in many places
in many places
a single leap will carry you into water over your head;
and were it not for its remarkable transparency, that
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rose on the opposite side. Some
think it
is bottomless. & except
were it not for its remarkable transparency that is the last that
is
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rises
rose on the opposite side. Some think it is bottomless.
and were it not for its remarkable transparency, that
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rose on the opposite side. Some
think it
is bottomless. & except
were it not for its remarkable transparency that is the last that
is
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rises
rose on the opposite side. Some think it is bottomless.
and were it not for its remarkable transparency, that
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rose on the opposite side. Some
think it
is bottomless. & except
were it not for its remarkable transparency that is the last that
is
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rises
rose on the opposite side. Some think it is bottomless.
and were it not for its remarkable transparency, that
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rose on the opposite side. Some
think it
is bottomless. & except
were it not for its remarkable transparency that is the last that
is
would be the last to be seen of its bottom till it rises
rose on the opposite side. Some think it is bottomless.
and were it not for its remarkable transparency, that would be the last to be
seen of its bottom till it rose on the opposite side. Some think it is bottomless.
It is nowhere muddy, and a casual observer would say that there were no weeds at all
in it;
and of noticeable plants,
except in the little meadows recently overflowed,
except for the small meadows which xxxxxxx
recently overflowed
except for the small meadows recently overflowed
except for the small
little meadows recently overflowed
except for the small
little meadows recently overflowed
except in the little meadows recently overflowed,
which do not properly belong to it,
which do not properly belong to it,
which do not properly belong to it,
a closer scrutiny
detects not
detects not
detects not
detects not
does not detect
a flag nor a bulrush, nor
a flag nor a bulrush, nor
a flag nor a bulrush, nor
a flag nor a bulrush, nor
a flag nor a bulrush, nor
even a lily, yellow or white, but only a few small heart-leaves and potamogetons,
and perhaps a
water-target or two;
which yet
which yet
which yet
which yet
all which however
a bather might not perceive; and these
plants , as well as the fishes,
plants , as well as the fishes,
plants , as well as the fishes,
plants , as well as the fishes,
plants
are clean and bright like the element they grow in.
It is surrounded by a belt of paving stones extending
It is surrounded by a belt of paving stones extending
It is surrounded by a belt of paving stones extending
It is surrounded by a belt of paving stones extending
It is surrounded by a belt of paving stones extending
It is surrounded by a belt of paving stones extending
It is surrounded by a belt of paving stones extending
The stones extend
a rod or two into the water, and then the bottom is pure sand, except in the deepest
parts—or where it is
under more than 40 feet deep
of water
parts—or where it is
under more than 40 feet deep
of water
parts—or where it is
under more than 40 feet deep
of water
parts—or where it is
under more than 40 feet deep
of water
parts—or where it is
under more than 40 feet deep
of water
parts—or where it is
under more than 40 feet deep
of water
parts—or where it is
under more than 40 feet deep
of water
parts,
where there is usually a little sediment,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
probably from the decay of the leaves which have been wafted on to it so many
successive falls,
and a bright green weed is brought up on anchors
even in midwinter.
We have one other pond just like this, White Pond, in Nine Acre
Corner,
about two and a half miles westerly; but, though I am acquainted with most of the
ponds within
a dozen miles of this centre, I do not know a third of this pure and well-like character.
Successive nations
perchance
perchance
perchance
perchance
perchance
perchance
perchance
perchance
have drank at,
admired, and fathomed
admired, and fathomed
admired, and fathomed
admired, and fathomed
admired, and fathomed
admired, and fathomed
admired, and fathomed
admired, and fathomed
it, and passed away,
and still its water is blue & pellucid as ever—Not an intermittent
spring
and still its water is blue & pellucid as ever—Not an intermittent
spring
and still its water is blue & pellucid as ever—Not an intermittent
spring
and still its water is blue
green and pellucid as ever. Not an intermitting spring
and still its water is blue
green and pellucid as ever. Not an intermitting spring
and still its water is blue
green and pellucid as ever. Not an intermitting spring
and still its water is blue
green and pellucid as ever. Not an intermitting spring
and still its water is green and pellucid as ever. Not an intermitting
spring!
Perhaps on that spring morning when Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden Walden Pond
was
already in existence, and even then breaking up in a gentle spring rain accompanied
with mist and a
southerly wind, and covered with myriads of ducks and geese,
that
which
that
which
that
which
that
which
that
which
that
which
that
which
which
had not heard of the fall,
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
when still such pure lakes sufficed them.
Even then it had commenced
its periodical
to
its periodical
to
its periodical
to
its periodical
to
its periodical
to
its periodical
to
its periodical
to
to
rise and fall, and had clarified its waters and
had colored
had colored
had colored
had colored
had colored
had colored
had colored
colored
them of the hue they now wear, and obtained a patent of heaven to be the only Walden
Pond in
the world and distiller of celestial dews. Who knows in how many unremembered nations’
literatures
this has been the Castalian Fountain?
or what nymphs presided over it in the Golden Age?
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her
coronet.
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her
coronet.
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her
coronet.
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her
coronet.
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her
coronet.
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her
coronet.
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her
coronet.
It is a gem of the first water which Concord wears in her coronet.
Yet
the first who frequented it
came to this well have perchance
the first who frequented it
came to this well have perchance
the first who frequented it
came to this well have perchance
the first who frequented it
came to this well have perchance
perchance the first who came to this well have
left some trace of their footsteps. I have been surprised to detect
encircling the pond, even
encircling the pond, even
encircling the pond, even
encircling the pond, even
encircling the pond, even
where a thick wood has
encircling the pond, even
encircling the pond, even
encircling the pond, even
encircling the pond, even
just
been cut down on the shore, a narrow shelf-like path
in the steep hill-side,
encircling in the pond
alternately rising & falling & approaching & receding from the water’s
edge
encircling in the pond
alternately rising & falling & approaching & receding from the water’s
edge
encircling in the pond
alternately rising & falling & approaching & receding from the water’s
edge
encircling in the pond
alternately rising & falling & approaching & receding from the water’s
edge
alternately rising and falling, approaching and receding from the water’s
edge,
as old probably as the race of man here, worn by the feet of aboriginal hunters,
and still from
time to time unwittingly trodden by the
whiteman
present occupants of the land
whiteman
present occupants of the land
whiteman
present occupants of the land
whiteman
present occupants of the land
present occupants of the land.
This is particularly distinct to one standing on the middle of the pond in winter,
just after a
light snow has fallen, appearing as a clear undulating white line, unobscured by weeds
and twigs, and
very obvious a quarter of a mile off in many places where in summer it is hardly distinguishable
close at
hand. The snow reprints it, as it were, in clear white type alto-relievo.
The ornamented grounds of villas which will one day be built here may still preserve
some trace
of this.
The pond rises and falls,
but
within what periods, and whether regularly or not
within what periods, and whether regularly or not
within what periods, and whether regularly or not, and within what
period
within what periods, and whether regularly or not, and within what
period
whether regularly or not, and within what period,
nobody knows, though, as usual, many pretend to know. It is commonly higher in the
winter and
lower in the summer, though not corresponding to the general wet and dryness. I can
remember when it
was a foot or two lower, and also when it was at least five feet higher, than when
I lived by it.
There is a narrow sand-bar running into it, with very deep water on one side, on which
I
boiled
helped boil
boiled
helped boil
boiled
helped boil
boiled
helped boil
helped boil
a kettle of chowder,
more than
some
more than
some
more than
some
more than
some
some
six rods from the main shore,
more than
as much as 25 years ago
more than
as much as 25 years ago
more than
as much as 25 years ago
more than
as much as 25 years ago
about the year 1824,
which it has not been possible to do
since
for twenty years at least
since
for twenty years at least
since
for twenty years at least
since
for twenty years at least
for twenty-five years;
and, on the other hand, my friends used to listen with incredulity when I told them,
that a
year or two
few years
year or two
few years
year or two
few years
year or two
few years
few years
later I was accustomed to fish from a boat
in a deep
secluded cove in the woods,
in a deep
secluded cove in the woods,
in a deep
secluded cove in the woods,
in a deep
secluded cove in the woods,
in a secluded cove in the woods,
fifteen rods from the only shore they knew, which place was long since converted
into a meadow.
But since I left it
But since I left it
But since I left it
But since I left it
But
the pond has risen steadily for
a year
two years past
a year
two years past
two years past
two years past
two years,
and now, in the summer of ’52,
is just five feet higher than when I lived there, or as high as it was
20
25
20
25
twenty-five
thirty
twenty-five
thirty
thirty
years ago, and fishing goes on again in the meadow.
which
this
which
this
which
this
which
this
This
makes a difference of level, at the outside, of six or seven feet; and yet the water
shed by
the surrounding hills is insignificant in amount, and this overflow must be referred
to causes which
affect the deep springs.
I have never detected any tide in it though I have thought
amused myself with thinking that with suitable instruments I might perchance do
so
this might perchance be done
I have never detected any tide in it though I have thought
amused myself with thinking that with suitable instruments I might perchance do
so
this might perchance be done
This same summer the pond has begun to fall again.
This same summer the pond has begun to fall again.
This same summer the pond has begun to fall again.
It is remarkable that this fluctuation, whether periodical or not, appears
thus
thus
thus
to require many years for its accomplishment. I have observed one rise and a part
of two falls,
and I expect that a dozen or fifteen years hence the water will again be as low as
I have ever known
it. Flint’s Pond,
a mile eastward,
a mile eastward,
a mile eastward,
allowing for the disturbance occasioned by its inlets and outlets, and
also the smaller intermediate ponds also
also the smaller intermediate ponds also
the smaller intermediate ponds also,
sympathize with Walden, and recently attained their greatest height at the same time
with the
latter. The same is true, as far as my observation goes,
with respect to
of
with respect to
of
of
White Pond.
This rise and fall of
the pond
Walden
the pond
Walden
Walden
at long intervals
at long intervals
at long intervals
serves this use at least; the water standing at this great height
for a year or more,
for a year or more,
for a year or more,
though it makes it difficult to walk round it, kills the shrubs and trees which have
sprung up
about its edge since the last rise, pitch-pines, birches, alders, aspens,
&e
&e
and others,
and, falling again, leaves an unobstructed shore; for, unlike many ponds and all
waters which are
subject to a daily tide, its shore is cleanest when the water is lowest. On the side
of the pond next my
house a row of pitch pines fifteen feet high has been killed and tipped over as if
by a lever, and thus a
stop put to their encroachments;
and their size might have indicated how many years had elapsed since
the last rise to this height
and their size might have indicated how many years had elapsed since
the last rise to this height
and their size indicates how many years have elapsed since the last rise to this
height.
By this
fluctuation—though with long intervals
fluctuation—though with long intervals
fluctuation
the pond asserts its title to a shore, and thus the
shore
is
shorn
, and the trees cannot hold it by right of possession. These are the
lips of the lake on which no beard grows. It licks its chaps from time to time. When
the water is at its
height, the alders,
& willows & maples
& willows & maples
willows, and maples
send forth a mass of
red fibrous red roots several feet long
red fibrous red roots several feet long
fibrous red roots several feet long
from all sides of their stems
in the water,
in the water,
in the water,
and to the height of three or four feet from
their roots
the ground
their roots
the ground
the ground,
in the effort to maintain themselves;
& I have known the high blueberry bushes which commonly
yield no berries then bear an abundant crop under these circumstances
& I have known the high blueberry bushes which commonly
yield no berries then bear an abundant crop under these circumstances
and I have known the high-blueberry bushes about the shore, which commonly produce
no fruit, bear an abundant crop under these circumstances.
stones have been shoved up into a ridge by the edge of the ice being driven against
it, or as if the sand had washed down and
collected against the ice, and there remained when the ice was melted. But the truth
seems to be
probably is that when there is a thaw or warm rain in midwinter which
warms the water in the pond, that portion of the water which penetrates a little
way under the frozen shore apparently takes out some of the frost there, and the shore,
whether it is sand or pebbles, or stones or sticks, is puffed up in the form of a
pent-roof six inches
or more high, and under which
this there is found to be no frost, Even pretty large rocks and trees, as I have said,
are
thus actually tripped up or pried over by a force applied beneath.
stones have been shoved up into a ridge by the edge of the ice being driven against
it, or as if the sand had washed down and
collected against the ice, and there remained when the ice was melted. But the truth
seems to be
probably is that when there is a thaw or warm rain in midwinter which
warms the water in the pond, that portion of the water which penetrates a little
way under the frozen shore apparently takes out some of the frost there, and the shore,
whether it is sand or pebbles, or stones or sticks, is puffed up in the form of a
pent-roof six inches
or more high, and under which
this there is found to be no frost, Even pretty large rocks and trees, as I have said,
are
thus actually tripped up or pried over by a force applied beneath.
Some have been puzzled to tell how
the shore became so regularly paved.
My townsmen have
all heard the tradition,
the oldest people tell me that they heard it in their youth,
the oldest people tell me that they heard it in their youth,
the oldest people tell me that they heard it in their youth,
that anciently the Indians were
carousing or holding
carousing or holding
holding
a pow-wow upon a hill here, which rose as high into the heavens as the pond now sinks
deep into
the earth, and they used much profanity, as the story goes, though this
vice , as I learn from the best authority,
vice , as I learn from the best authority,
vice
is one of which the Indians were never guilty, and while they were thus engaged the
hill shook
and suddenly sank, and only one old squaw, named Walden, escaped, and from her the
pond was named. It
has been conjectured that when the hill shook these stones rolled down its side and
became the present
shore. It is very certain, at any rate, that once there was no pond
there
there
here,
and now there is one;
and
and
and
this Indian fable does not in any respect conflict with the account of that ancient
settler
whom I have mentioned,
who remembers so
well when he first came here with his divining rod,
saw a thin vapor rising from the
sward, and the hazel pointed steadily downward, and he concluded to dig a well here.
As for the stones, many still think that they are hardly to be accounted for by
the action of the waves on these hills;
but I observe that the surrounding hills are remarkably full of the same kind of
stones, so
that they have been obliged to pile them up in walls on both sides of the railroad
cut nearest the
pond; and, moreover,
that there
that there
there
are most stones where the shore is most abrupt; so that, unfortunately, it is no
longer a
mystery to me. I detect the paver.
If the name was not derived from that of some English locality,—
Saffron Walden, for instance, Saffron Walden
perhaps
for instance
Saffron Walden, for instance, Saffron Walden
perhaps
for instance
Saffron Walden, for instance,
—
I have conjectured that
who knows but
I have conjectured that
who knows but
one might suppose that
it was called, originally,
Walled-in
Pond.
The pond was my well ready dug. For four months in the year its water is as cold as
it is pure at
all times; and I think that it is then as good as any, if not the best, in the town.
In the winter, all
water which is exposed to the air is colder than springs and wells which are protected
from it. The
temperature of the pond water
which had stood in the room where I sat from five o’clock in the afternoon till noon
the next
day, the sixth of March,
1846,
the thermometer having been up to 65° or 70°
a part
some
a part
some
a part
some
a part
some
a part
some
a part
some
a part
some
some
of the time, owing partly to the sun on the roof, was 42°, or one degree colder than
the water of
one of the
best
coldest
best
coldest
best
coldest
best
coldest
best
coldest
best
coldest
best
coldest
coldest
wells in the village
just drawn.
just drawn.
just drawn.
just drawn.
just drawn.
just drawn.
just drawn.
just drawn.
The temperature of the Boiling Spring
the same day was 45°, or the warmest of any water tried, though it is the coldest
that I know of
that I know of
that I know of
that I know of
that I know of
that I know of
that I know of
that I know of
in summer, when,
also
beside
also
beside
also
beside
also
beside
also
beside
also
beside
also
beside
beside,
shallow and stagnant surface water is not mingled with it. Moreover, in summer, Walden
never
becomes so warm as most water which is exposed to the sun, on account of its depth.
In the warmest
weather I usually placed a pailful in my cellar, where it became cool in the night,
and remained so
during the day; though I also resorted to a spring
in the neighborhood. It was as good when a week old as the day it was dipped, and
had no taste of
the pump. Whoever camps for a week in summer by the shore of a pond,
need
need
need
need
need
need
need
needs
only bury a pail of water a few feet deep in the shade of his camp to be independent
of the luxury
of ice.
There have been caught in Walden, pickerel,
one weighing seven pounds, to say nothing of another which carried off a reel with
great
velocity, which the fisherman safely set down at eight pounds because he did not see
him, perch and
pouts, some of each weighing over two pounds, shiners, chivins or roach,
(Leuciscus pulchellus),
a very few breams,
(Pomotis obesus),
and a couple of eels, one weighing four pounds,—
and I mention this
I am thus particular
and I mention this
I am thus particular
I am thus particular
because the weight of a fish is
almost
commonly
almost
commonly
commonly
its only title to fame, and these are the only eels I have heard of
in this pond
here
in this pond
here
here;
—also, I have a faint recollection of a little fish some five inches long, with silvery
sides
and a greenish back, somewhat dace-like in its character, which I mention here chiefly
to link my
facts to fable. Nevertheless,
it
Walden
this pond
it
Walden
this pond
this pond
is not very fertile in fish.
Its pickerel, though not abundant, are its chief
boast.
Its pickerel, though not abundant, are its chief
boast.
Its pickerel, though not abundant, are its chief boast.
I have seen at one time lying on the ice pickerel of
r
Revision note: F1: 3 different forms & colors which had just been caught here; A long &
shallow kind most like those caught in the river, steel colored with greenish brown
reticulations—but darker on the back—
Also
three different forms & colors which had just been caught here; a long &
shallow kind steel colored most like those caught in the river
, steel-colored with greenish brown reticulations (but darker on the back)
r
Revision note: F1: 3 different forms & colors which had just been caught here; A long &
shallow kind most like those caught in the river, steel colored with greenish brown
reticulations—but darker on the back—
Also
three different forms & colors which had just been caught here; a long &
shallow kind steel colored most like those caught in the river
, steel-colored with greenish brown reticulations (but darker on the back)
at least three different kinds; a long and shallow one, steel-colored, most
like those caught in the river;
a bright golden
kind which is most common
kind which is most common
kind,
with greenish reflections and remarkably deep,
r
Revision note: F1: with short heads. Both of these were mottled on their sides with an irregular
network of dark brown and black lines often extending over the back—the meshes about
¾ or an
inch long and producing longitudinal stripes—more or less distinct
and continuous & they were a very pure white beneath also
with short heads. Both of these were mottled on their sides with an
irregular network of dark brown and black lines often extending over the back—the
meshes
about ¾ or an inch long and producing longitudinal stripes—more or less distinct and
continuous and they were a very pure white beneath also
and
r
Revision note: F1: with short heads. Both of these were mottled on their sides with an irregular
network of dark brown and black lines often extending over the back—the meshes about
¾ or an
inch long and producing longitudinal stripes—more or less distinct
and continuous & they were a very pure white beneath also
with short heads. Both of these were mottled on their sides with an
irregular network of dark brown and black lines often extending over the back—the
meshes
about ¾ or an inch long and producing longitudinal stripes—more or less distinct and
continuous and they were a very pure white beneath also
and
which is the most common here; and
another, golden-colored, and shaped like the last, but peppered on the sides with
small dark
brown or black spots, intermixed with a few faint blood-red ones, very much like a
trout. The specific
name
reticulatus
would not apply to this; it should be
guttatus
rather. These are all very firm fish, and weigh more than their size promises. The
shiners,
r
Revision note: F1: and pouts
and pouts
r
Revision note: F1: and pouts
and pouts
pouts,
and perch also, and indeed all the fishes which inhabit this pond, are much cleaner,
handsomer,
and firmer fleshed than
those caught
those caught
those
in the river and most other ponds, as the water is purer, and
r
Revision note: F1:
they
r
Revision note: F1:
they
they
can easily be distinguished from them. Probably many ichthyologists would make new
varieties of
most
some
most
some
some
of them.
There
is
are
is
are
are
also a clean race of frogs and tortoises, and a few mussels
in it;
muskrats and minks leave their traces about it, and occasionally a travelling mud-turtle
visits it.
Sometimes, when I pushed off my boat in the morning, I
found
disturbed
found
disturbed
disturbed
a great mud-turtle which had secreted himself under
it
the boat
it
the boat
the boat
in the night. Ducks and geese frequent it in the spring and fall, the white-bellied
swallows
(Hirundo bicolor)
(Hirundo bicolor)
(Hirundo bicolor)
skim over it,
kingfishers dart away from its coves,
and the peetweets
(Totanus macularius)
(Totanus macularius)
(Totanus macularius)
"teeter" along its stony shores all summer. I have sometimes disturbed a fishhawk
sitting on a
white-pine bough
white-pine bough
white-pine
over the water; but I doubt if it is ever profaned by the wing of a gull, like Fair
Haven.
At most, it tolerates one annual loon. These are all the animals of consequence
that
that
which
frequent it now.
You may see from a boat, in
calm weather, near the sandy eastern shore, where the water is eight or ten feet deep,
and also in some other parts of the pond,
and also in some other parts of the pond,
and also in some other parts of the pond,
some circular
heaps of small stones
heaps of small stones
heaps of small stones
heaps
half a dozen feet in diameter by a foot in height, consisting of small stones less
than a hen’s
egg in size, where all around is bare
sand , probably the work of some fish
sand , probably the work of some fish
sand , probably the work of some fish
sand.
At first you wonder if the Indians could have formed them on the ice for any purpose,
and so, when
the ice melted, they sank to the bottom; but they are too regular and some of them
plainly too
recent
fresh
recent
fresh
recent
fresh
fresh
for that. They are similar to those found
in the Assabet River
r
Revision note: F1: in the Assabet River
in the Assabet River
in rivers& elsewhere
r
Revision note: F1: in the Assabet River
in the Assabet River
in rivers& elsewhere
in rivers;
but as there are no suckers nor lampreys
in Walden
r
Revision note: F1: in Walden
in Walden
r
Revision note: F1: in Walden
in Walden
here,
I know not by what fish they
can
could
can
could
can
could
could
be made.
r
Revision note: F1:
Perhaps they are the nests of the chivin.
r
Revision note: F1:
Perhaps they are the nests of the chivin.
Perhaps they are the nests of the chivin.
These lend a pleasing mystery to the bottom.
The shore is irregular enough not to be monotonous. I have in my
mind
mind’s eye
mind
mind’s eye
mind
mind’s eye
mind
mind’s eye
mind’s eye
the western indented with deep bays, the bolder northern, and the beautifully scolloped
southern
shore, where successive capes overlap each other and suggest unexplored coves between.
The forest has
never so good a setting,
nor appears so distinctly and perfectly beautiful
is never seen so distinct and perfect an outline
nor appears so distinctly and perfectly beautiful
is never seen so distinct and perfect an outline
nor appears so distinctly and perfectly beautiful
is never seen so distinct and perfect an outline
nor appears so distinctly and perfectly beautiful
is never seen so distinct and perfect an outline
nor is so distinctly beautiful,
as when seen from the middle of a
small
small
small
small
small
lake amid hills which rise from the water’s edge; for the water
in which it is reflected
in which it is reflected
in which it is reflected
in which it is reflected
in which it is reflected
not only makes the best foreground
in such a case,
in such a case,
in such a case,
in such a case,
in such a case,
but,
with its winding shore,
with its winding shore,
with its winding shore,
with its winding shore,
with its winding shore,
the most natural
l and agreeable
l and agreeable
l and agreeable
l and agreeable
and agreeable
boundary to it. There is no rawness nor imperfection
to the edge of the wood in this case
in its edge there
to the edge of the wood in this case
in its edge there
to the edge of the wood in this case
in its edge there
to the edge of the wood in this case
in its edge there
in its edge there,
as where the axe has cleared a part, or a cultivated field abuts on it.
but here
The trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each sends forth
its most vigorous branch in that direction. There Nature has woven a natural
border
selvage and the eye rises by natural
just gradations from the low shrubs of the shore to the
higher
highest trees. It is a natural selvage. There are few
traces of man’s hand to be seen. The water laves the shore as it did
a thousand years ago Moreover the trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each
sends forth its most vigorous branch to fringe the shore.
but here
The trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each sends forth
its most vigorous branch in that direction. There Nature has woven a natural
border
selvage and the eye rises by natural
just gradations from the low shrubs of the shore to the
higher
highest trees. It is a natural selvage. There are few
traces of man’s hand to be seen. The water laves the shore as it did
a thousand years ago Moreover the trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each
sends forth its most vigorous branch to fringe the shore.
but here
The trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each sends forth
its most vigorous branch in that direction. There Nature has woven a natural
border
selvage and the eye rises by natural
just gradations from the low shrubs of the shore to the
higher
highest trees. It is a natural selvage. There are few
traces of man’s hand to be seen. The water laves the shore as it did
a thousand years ago Moreover the trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each
sends forth its most vigorous branch to fringe the shore.
but here
The trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each sends forth
its most vigorous branch in that direction. There Nature has woven a natural
border
selvage and the eye rises by natural
just gradations from the low shrubs of the shore to the
higher
highest trees. It is a natural selvage. There are few
traces of man’s hand to be seen. The water laves the shore as it did
a thousand years ago Moreover the trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each
sends forth its most vigorous branch to fringe the shore.
The trees have ample room to expand on the water side, and each sends forth its
most vigorous branch in that direction. There Nature has woven a natural selvage,
and the eye rises
by just gradations from the low shrubs of the shore to the highest trees. There are
few traces of
man’s hand to be seen. The water laves the shore as it did a thousand years ago.
A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth’s eye;
looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. The fluviatile
trees next the shore
are the slender eyelashes which fringe it, and the wooded hills and cliffs around
are its overhanging
brows.
Standing on the smooth sandy
shore
shore
beach
shore
beach
shore
beach
beach
at the east end of the pond, in a calm September afternoon,
when a slight haze makes the shore line indistinct,
when a slight haze makes the opposite shore line indistinct
when a slight haze makes the opposite shore line indistinct
when a slight haze makes the opposite shore line indistinct
when a slight haze makes the opposite shore line indistinct,
I have seen whence came the expression, "the glassy surface of a lake." When you
invert your
head,
it looks like a thread of finest gossamer stretched across the valley, and gleaming
against
the distant pine woods, separating one stratum of the atmosphere from another. You
would think that
you could walk dry under it to the opposite hills, and that the swallows which skim
over might perch
on it. Indeed, they sometimes dive below this line, as it were by mistake, and are
undeceived. A slight haze at that season makes the shore line so much the
more distinct.
undeceived. A slight haze at that season makes the shore line so much the
more distinct.
undeceived. A slight haze at that season makes the shore line so much the
more distinct.
undeceived. A slight haze at that season makes the shore line so much the
more distinct.
undeceived.
As you look over the pond westward you are obliged to employ both your hands to defend
your
eyes against the reflected as well as the true sun, for they are equally bright; and
if, between the
two, you survey its surface critically, it is literally as smooth as glass, except
where the skater
insects,
at equal intervals scattered over
their
its
their
its
their
its
their
its
its
whole extent, by their motions
in the sun
in the sun
in the sun
in the sun
in the sun
produce the finest imaginable sparkle
in the sun, or a fish leaps into the air
or perchance a duck or loon dimples it
plumes itself or as I have said a swallow dips beneath it
on it or perchance a duck plumes itself or as I have said a swallow
dips beneath
skims so low as to touch it
on it or perchance a duck plumes itself or as I have said a swallow
dips beneath
skims so low as to touch it
on it or perchance a duck plumes itself or as I have said a swallow
dips beneath
skims so low as to touch it
on it, or, perchance, a duck plumes itself, or, as I have said, a swallow skims
so low as to touch it.
Sometimes
Sometimes
It may be that
Sometimes
It may be that
Sometimes
It may be that
It may be that
in the distance
in the distance
in the distance
in the distance
in the distance
a fish describes an arc of three or four feet in the
atmosphere
air
atmosphere
air
atmosphere
air
atmosphere
air
air,
and there is one bright flash where it emerges, and another where it strikes the
water;
sometimes if the light is favorable the whole silvery arc is
revealed
sometimes if the light is favorable the whole silvery arc is
revealed
sometimes if the light is favorable the whole silvery arc is
revealed
sometimes the whole silvery arc is revealed;
And
or
And
or
And
or
And
or
or
here and there,
it may be,
it may be,
perhaps
it may be,
perhaps
it may be,
perhaps
perhaps,
is a thistle-down floating on its surface, which the fishes dart at and so dimple
it
again.
again.
again.
again.
again.
It is like molten glass
It is like molten glass
It is like molten glass
It is like molten glass cooled but not congealed, and the few motes in it are
pure and beautiful like the imperfections in glass.
Sometimes you may see
detect
Sometimes you may see
detect
Sometimes you may see
detect
Sometimes you may see
detect
You may often detect
a yet smoother and darker water, separated from the rest as if by an invisible cobweb,
boom of the water nymphs,
boom of the water nymphs,
boom of the water nymphs,
boom of the water nymphs,
boom of the water nymphs,
resting on it. From a hill-top
I
you
I
you
I
you
I
you
you
can see a fish leap in almost any part; for not a pickerel or shiner picks an insect
from this
smooth surface but it manifestly disturbs the equilibrium of the whole lake. It is
wonderful with what
elaborateness this simple fact is advertised,—
this
the
this
the
this
the
this
the
this
piscine murder will out,
—and from my distant perch I distinguish the circling undulations when they are half
a dozen
rods in diameter.
Nay you can even
Nay you can even
Nay you can even
You can even
detect a water-bug
(Gyrinus)
ceaselessly progressing over the smooth surface
in almost any part of the pond
a quarter of a mile off;
in almost any part of the pond
a quarter of a mile off;
in almost any part of the pond
a quarter of a mile off;
a quarter of a mile off;
for they furrow the water slightly, making a conspicuous ripple bounded by two diverging
lines,
but the skaters glide over it without
producing a perceptible ripple.
producing a perceptible ripple.
producing a perceptible ripple.
rippling it perceptibly.
When the surface
was considerably rippled, I discovered
is considerably agitated by wind there are
was considerably rippled, I discovered
is considerably agitated by wind there are
was considerably rippled, I discovered
is considerably agitated by wind there are
is considerably agitated there are
no skaters nor water-bugs on it, but apparently,
when the calm weather came & smoothed
returns & smoothes the water they glided
adventurously glide
when the calm weather came & smoothed
returns & smoothes the water they glided
adventurously glide
when the calm weather came & smoothed
returns & smoothes the water they glided
adventurously glide
in calm days, they leave their havens and adventurously glide
forth from the shore by short impulses till they completely
covered.
cover it ; but both finally disappear entirely in the latter part of October
when the severer frosts have come and then in a calm day there is absolutely no
ripple on its surface
covered.
cover it ; but both finally disappear entirely in the latter part of October
when the severer frosts have come and then in a calm day there is absolutely no
ripple on its surface
covered.
cover it ; but both finally disappear entirely in the latter part of October
when the severer frosts have come and then in a calm day there is absolutely no
ripple on its surface
cover it.
How soothing
It is soothing employment on one of those fine calm days in the fall
when all the warmth of the sun is fully appreciated
It is soothing employment on one of those fine calm days in the fall
when all the warmth of the sun is fully appreciated
It is soothing employment on one of those fine calm days in the fall
when all the warmth of the sun is fully appreciated
It is a soothing employment, on one of those fine days in the fall when all the
warmth of the sun is fully appreciated,
to sit on a stump on such a height as this, overlooking the pond, and study the dimpling
circles which are incessantly inscribed
and again erased on the smooth and
on the smooth and
its
on the smooth and
its
on the smooth and
its
on its
otherwise invisible surface amid the reflected skies
and trees.
Over this
vast
vast
vast
vast
great
expanse there
can be
can be
can be
can be
is
no disturbance but it is thus at once gently smoothed away and assuaged, as, when
a vase of
water is jarred, the trembling circles seek the shore and all is smooth again. Not
a fish can leap or
an insect fall on
it
it
it
it
the pond
but it is
thus
reported
in lines of beauty, in circling dimples,
in circling dimples in lines of beauty,
in circling dimples in lines of beauty,
in circling dimples in lines of beauty,
in circling dimples, in lines of beauty,
as it were the constant welling up of its fountain, the gentle pulsing of its life,
the heaving
of its breast. The thrills of joy and thrills of pain are undistinguishable. How
peaceful & sweet
peaceful and sweet
peaceful and sweet
peaceful and sweet
peaceful
the phenomena of the
lake! The peaceful pond
lake! The peaceful pond
lake! The peaceful pond
lake! The peaceful pond
lake!
Again the works of
men
men
men
men
man
shine as in the spring.
Ay, every leaf and twig and stone and cobweb sparkles now at mid-afternoon as
when covered with dew in a spring morning.
Ay, every leaf and twig and stone and cobweb sparkles now at mid-afternoon as
when covered with dew in a spring morning.
Ay, every leaf and twig and stone and cobweb sparkles now at mid-afternoon as
when covered with dew in a spring morning.
Ay, every leaf and twig and stone and cobweb sparkles now at mid-afternoon as
when covered with dew in a spring morning.
Every motion of
an oar
a paddle
an oar
a paddle
an oar
a paddle
an oar
a paddle
an oar
or an insect produces a flash of light; and if an oar falls, how sweet the echo!
In such a
day as I first described
day as I first described
day as I first described
day,
in September or October, Walden is a perfect forest mirror, set round with stones
as precious
in my eyes
in my eyes
in my eyes
to my eye
as if fewer or rarer. Nothing so fair, so pure, and at the same time so large, as
a lake,
perchance, lies on the surface of the earth. Sky water.
It needs no fence. Nations come and go without defiling it. It is a mirror which no
stone can
crack, whose quicksilver will never wear off, whose gilding Nature continually repairs;
no storms, no
dust, can dim its surface ever fresh;— a mirror in which all impurity presented to
it sinks, swept and
dusted by the sun’s
misty or hazy
misty or hazy
misty or hazy
hazy
brush,—this the light dust-cloth,— which retains no breath that is breathed on it,
but sends its
own to float as clouds high above its surface, and be reflected in its bosom
still; while the sun purifies them and they are distilled again in dew and rain
still; while the sun purifies them and they are distilled again in dew and rain
still; while the sun purifies them and they are distilled again in dew and rain
still.
A field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air. It
continually receives
continually receives
continually receives
is continually receiving
new life and motion
from above.
It is intermediate
in its nature
between land and sky. On land only the grass and trees wave, but the water itself
is rippled by
the wind. I see where the breeze dashes across it by the streaks or flakes of light.
It is remarkable
that we can look down on its surface. We shall,
perchance,
perchance,
perchance,
perhaps,
look down thus on the surface of air at length, and mark where a still subtler spirit
sweeps over
it.
The
skaters and water-bugs finally disappear in the latter part of October, when the severe
frosts have come;
and then and in November,
usually,
usually,
usually,
usually,
in a calm day, there is absolutely nothing to ripple the surface. One November afternoon,
in the
calm at the end of a rain storm of several days’ duration, when the sky was still
completely overcast and
the air was full of mist, I observed that the pond was remarkably smooth, so that
it was difficult to
distinguish its surface; though it no longer reflected the bright tints of
autumn
autumn
autumn
October,
but the sombre
November
colors of the surrounding hills. Though I
paddled
paddled
paddled
passed
over it as gently as possible, the slight undulations produced by my boat extended
almost as far
as I could see, and gave a ribbed appearance to the reflections.
But,
as I was looking over the surface, I saw here and there at a distance a faint glimmer,
as if some
skater insects which had escaped the frosts might be collected there, or, perchance,
the surface, being
so smooth, betrayed where a spring welled up from the bottom. Paddling gently
toward
to
toward
to
toward
to
to
one of these places, I was surprised to find myself surrounded by myriads of small
perch, about
five inches long, of a rich
brown
brown
brown
bronze
color in the green water, sporting there and constantly rising to the surface and
dimpling it,
sometimes leaving bubbles on it. In such transparent and
apparently
apparently
apparently
seemingly
bottomless water, reflecting the clouds,
I seemed to be floating through the air as in a balloon,
and
I seemed to be floating through the air as in a balloon,
and
I seemed to be floating through the air as in a balloon,
and
I seemed to be floating through the air as in a balloon, and
their swimming impressed me as a kind of flight or hovering, as if they were a compact
flock of
birds passing just beneath my level on the right or left, their fins, like sails,
set all around them.
There were many such schools in the pond, apparently improving the short season before
winter would draw
an icy shutter over their broad skylight, sometimes giving to the surface an appearance
as if a slight
breeze struck it, or a few rain-drops fell there. When I approached carelessly and
alarmed them, they
made a sudden splash and rippling with their tails, as if
you
you
you
one
had struck the water with a brushy bough, and instantly took refuge in the depths.
At length the
wind rose, the mist increased, and the waves began to run, and the perch leaped much
higher than before,
half out of water, a hundred black points, three inches long, at once above the surface.
Even as late as
the fifth of December,
this
this
this
one
year, I saw some dimples on the surface, and thinking it was going to rain hard immediately,
the
air being fun of mist, I made haste to take my place at the oars and row homeward;
already the rain
seemed rapidly increasing, though I felt none on my cheek, and I anticipated a thorough
soaking.
But suddenly the dimples ceased, for they were produced by the perch, which the noise
of my oars
had scared into the depths, and I saw their schools dimly disappearing;
and
and
and
so
I spent a dry afternoon after all.
An old man who used to frequent
Walden
this pond
Walden
this pond
this pond
nearly sixty years ago, when it was dark with surrounding forests,
says
tells me
says
tells me
tells me
that in those days he sometimes saw it all alive with ducks and other
fowl,
fowl,
water fowl,
and that there were many eagles about it.
and that there were many eagles about it.
and that there were many eagles about it.
He
went there
went there
came here
a-fishing, and used an old log canoe which he found on the shore. It was made of
two white-pine
logs dug out and pinned
together and pitched,
together and pitched,
together,
and was cut off square at the ends. It was very clumsy, but lasted a great many years
then
before it
then
before it
before it
became water-logged and perhaps sank to the bottom. He did not know whose it was;
it belonged to
the pond. He used to make a cable for his anchor
of strips
of strips
of strips
of hickory bark tied together. An old man, a potter,
who lived by the pond before the Revolution, told him once that there was an iron
chest at the
bottom of the pond
bottom of the pond
bottom,
and that he had seen it. Sometimes it would come floating up to the shore;
and
but
and
but
but
when you went toward it,
it would
it would
it would
go back into deep water and disappear. I
loved
was pleased
loved
was pleased
was pleased
to hear of the old log canoe, which took the place of an Indian one of the same material
but more
graceful construction, which perchance had first been a tree on the bank, and then,
as it were, fell into
the water, to float there for a generation, the most proper vessel for the lake. I
remember that when I
first
paddled in it
looked into these depths
paddled in it
looked into these depths
looked into these depths
there were
more large trunks of trees
many large trunks
more large trunks of trees
many large trunks
many large trunks
to be seen indistinctly lying on the bottom, which had either been blown over formerly,
or left on
the ice at the last cutting, when wood was cheaper; but now they have mostly disappeared.
When I first paddled a boat on Walden, it was completely surrounded by thick and lofty
pine and oak woods, and in some of its coves grape vines had run over the trees next
the water and formed
bowers under which a boat could pass. The hills which form its shores are so steep,
and the woods on them
were then so high, that, as you looked down from the west end, it had the appearance
of an amphitheatre
for some kind of sylvan spectacle. I have spent many an hour, when I was younger,
floating over its
surface as the zephyr willed, having paddled my boat to the middle, and lying on my
back across the
seats, in a summer forenoon, dreaming awake, until I was aroused by the boat touching
the sand, and I
arose to see what shore my fates had impelled me to; days when idleness was the most
attractive and
productive industry. Many a forenoon have I stolen away, preferring to spend thus
the most valued part of
the day; for I was rich, if not in money, in sunny hours and summer days, and spent
them lavishly; nor do
I regret that I did not waste more of
them behind a counter
them behind a counter
them behind a counter
them
in the workshop or the teacher’s
desk in which last two places, I have spent many of them
desk in which last two places, I have spent many of them
desk in which last two places, I have spent many of them
desk.
But since I left those shores the woodchoppers have still
further laid them waste,
and now for many a year there will be no more rambling through the aisles of the
wood,
with occasional vistas through which you see the water. My Muse may be excused if
she is silent henceforth. How can you expect the birds to sing when their groves are
cut
down?
Now the trunks of trees on the bottom, and the old log canoe, and the dark
surrounding woods, are gone, and the villagers, who scarcely know where it lies, instead
of going to the
pond to bathe or drink, are thinking to bring its water, which should be as sacred
as the Ganges at
least, to the village in a pipe,
to wash their dishes with!—to earn their Walden by the turning of a cock or drawing
of a plug!
That devilish Iron Horse,
whose ear-rending neigh is heard throughout the town, has muddied the Boiling Spring
with his
foot, and he it is that has browsed off all the woods on Walden shore; that Trojan
horse,
with a thousand men in his belly, introduced by mercenary Greeks! Where is the country’s
champion, the Moore of Moore Hill,
to meet him at the Deep Cut
and thrust an avenging lance between the ribs of the bloated pest?
Nevertheless,
Nevertheless,
Nevertheless,
Nevertheless,
Nevertheless,
of all the characters I have known,
perhaps
perhaps
perhaps
perhaps
perhaps
Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity.
Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that
honor.
Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that
honor.
Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that
honor.
Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that
honor.
Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that honor.
Though the woodchoppers have laid bare first this shore and then that, and the Irish
have built
their sties
by it, and the railroad has infringed
on
on
on
on
on
its border, and the ice-men have skimmed it once,
in the winter, it is absolutely
essentially
itself
in the winter, it is absolutely
essentially
itself
in the winter, it is absolutely
essentially
itself
in the winter, it is absolutely
essentially
itself
it is itself
unchanged, the same water which my youthful eyes fell on;
all the change is in me.
all the change is in me.
all the change is in me.
all the change is in me.
all the change is in me.
It has not acquired one permanent wrinkle after all its
ripples. Though I have changed, it has not
ripples. Though I have changed, it has not
ripples. Though I have changed, it has not
ripples. Though I have changed, it has not
ripples.
It is perennially young, and I may stand and see a swallow dip apparently to pick
an insect from
its surface as of yore. It struck me
again
again
again
again
again
tonight, as if I had not seen it almost daily for more than twenty years,—Why, here
is Walden, the
same woodland lake that I discovered so many years ago; where a forest was cut down
last winter another
is springing up by its shore as lustily as ever; the same thought is welling up to
its surface that was
then; it is the same liquid joy and happiness to itself and its Maker, ay, and it
may
be to me. It is the work of a brave man
surely,
surely,
surely,
surely,
surely,
in whom there was no guile!
He rounded this water with his hand, and deepened and clarified it in
his thought
He rounded this water with his hand, and deepened and clarified it in
his thought
He rounded this water with his hand, and deepened and clarified it in
his thought
He rounded this water with his hand, and deepened and clarified it in
his thought
He rounded this water with his hand, deepened and clarified it in his
thought,
and in his will
he bequeathed
he bequeathed
he bequeathed
he bequeathed
bequeathed
it to Concord. I see by its face that it is visited by the same reflection; and I
can almost say,
Walden, is it you?
It is a real place,
Boston, I tell it to your face.
And
It is a real place,
Boston, I tell it to your face.
And
It is a real place,
Boston, I tell it to your face.
And
It is a real place,
Boston, I tell it to your face.
And
It is
no dream of mine,
I cannot come nearer to God and Heaven
Than I live to Walden even.
It is a part of me which I have not profaned
I live by the
shore of me detained.
Laden with my dregs
I stand on my legs
While all my pure
wine
I to nature consign
It is a part of me which I have not profaned
I live by the
shore of me detained.
Laden with my dregs
I stand on my legs
While all my pure
wine
I to nature consign
It is a part of me which I have not profaned
I live by the
shore of me detained.
Laden with my dregs
I stand on my legs
While all my pure
wine
I to nature consign
It is a part of me which I have not profaned
I live by the
shore of me detained.
Laden with my dregs
I stand on my legs
While all my pure
wine
I to nature consign
And the breeze that passes o’er;
Are its water and its sand,
The cars never pause to look at it; yet I fancy that the engineers and firemen and
brakemen, and those passengers who have a season ticket and see it often, are better
men for the sight.
The engineer does not forget at night, or his nature does not, that he has beheld
this vision of serenity
and purity once
at least
during the day. Though seen but once, it helps to wash out State-street
and the engine’s soot. One proposes that it be called "God’s Drop."
I have said that Walden has no visible inlet nor outlet, but it is on the one hand
distantly and indirectly related to Flint’s Pond, which is more elevated, by a chain
of small ponds
coming from that quarter, and on the other directly and manifestly to Concord River,
which is lower, by a
similar chain of ponds through which in some other geological period it may have flowed,
and by a little
digging, which God forbid, it can be made to flow thither again. If by living thus
reserved and
austere,
like a hermit in the woods, so long, it has acquired such wonderful purity, who would
not regret
that the comparatively impure waters of Flint’s Pond should be mingled with it, or
itself should ever go
to waste its sweetness in the ocean wave?
Flint’s, or Sandy Pond,
in Lincoln,
our greatest lake and inland
sea, containing 190 acres
sea, containing 190 acres
sea, containing 190 acres
sea, containing 190 acres
sea, containing 190 acres
sea, containing 190 acres
sea, containing 190 acres
sea,
lies about a mile east of
me, and
me, and
me, and
me, and
me, and
me, and
me, and
Walden.
though comparatively shallow, and not remarkably pure it is much
larger, being said to contain one hundred and ninety-seven acres, and it is more
fertile in fish but it is comparatively shallow, and not remarkably
pure
though comparatively shallow, and not remarkably pure it is much
larger, being said to contain one hundred and ninety-seven acres, and it is more
fertile in fish but it is comparatively shallow, and not remarkably
pure
though comparatively shallow, and not remarkably pure it is much
larger, being said to contain one hundred and ninety-seven acres, and it is more
fertile in fish but it is comparatively shallow, and not remarkably
pure
It is much larger, being said to contain one hundred and ninety-seven acres,
and is more fertile in fish; but it is comparatively shallow, and not remarkably pure.
A walk through the woods thither was often my recreation. It was worth the while,
if only to
feel the wind blow
on your cheek
on your cheek
on your cheek
on your cheek
on your cheek
on your cheek
on your cheek
on your cheek freely,
and see the waves run, and remember the life of mariners. I went
a nutting
a chestnutting
a nutting
a chestnutting
a nutting
a chestnutting
a nutting
a chestnutting
a nutting
a chestnutting
a nutting
a chestnutting
a nutting
a chestnutting
a-chestnutting
there in the fall,
one windy day
one windy day
one windy day
one windy day
one windy day
one windy day
one windy day
on windy days,
when the nuts were dropping into the water and were washed
ashore
ashore
ashore
ashore
ashore
ashore
ashore
to my feet;
and
one day,
as I crept along its sedgy shore, the fresh spray blowing in my face, I came upon
the
mouldering wreck of a boat, the sides gone, and hardly more than the impression of
its flat
bottom left amid the rushes; yet its model was sharply defined, as if it were a
large decayed pad, with its veins. It was as impressive a wreck as one could imagine
on the sea-shore,
and had as good a
moral as if it had been the Spanish Galleon with its treasures on the sea
coast
moral as if it had been the Spanish Galleon with its treasures on the sea
coast
moral as if it had been the Spanish Galleon with its treasures on the sea
coast
moral.
It is by this time mere vegetable mould and undistinguishable pond shore, through
which rushes
and flags have pushed up. I used to admire the ripple marks on the sandy bottom, at
the north end of
this pond, made firm and hard to the feet of the wader by the pressure of the water,
and the rushes
which grew in Indian file, in waving lines, corresponding to these marks, rank behind
rank, as if the
waves had planted them. There also I
find some in quantities
have found
in
considerable
quantities
find some in quantities
have found
in
considerable
quantities
find some in quantities
have found
in
considerable
quantities
have found, in considerable quantities,
curious balls,
made
made
made
composed
apparently of fine grass or roots,
or perhaps of partially decomposed rushes
or perhaps of partially decomposed rushes
or perhaps of partially decomposed rushes
of pipewort perhaps,
from half an inch to four inches in diameter, and perfectly spherical.
washing
the fibres being half an inch or more in length. These wash
washing
the fibres being half an inch or more in length. These wash
washing
the fibres being half an inch or more in length. These wash
These wash
back and forth in shallow water on a sandy bottom, and are sometimes cast on the
shore.
At first sight you would take them to be the nests of mice, but
they
At first sight you would take them to be the nests of mice, but
they
At first sight you would take them to be the nests of mice, but
they
They
are either solid grass, or have a little sand in the middle.
It next occurred to me
It next occurred to me
It next occurred to me
At first you would say
that they were formed by the action of the waves, like a pebble;
but the discovery of the smallest
but the discovery of the smallest
but the discovery of the smallest
yet the smallest are
made of equally coarse materials,
and the fact that
and the fact that
and the fact that
half an inch long, and
they are produced only at one season of the
year made relinquish this opinion
year made relinquish this opinion
year made relinquish this opinion
year.
Moreover, the waves,
I suspect,
I suspect,
I suspect,
I suspect,
do not
construct, but
construct, but
construct, but
so much construct as
wear down a material which has already acquired consistency. They preserve their
form when dry
for an indefinite
period. No naturalists to whom I have shown them can give a satisfactory account
of them. The highland beyond the pond affords a memorable view over it and the forest
westward
to the mountains in the horizon, a more complete and extensive forest view than can
be got from
the summit of Monadnok. According to Shepherd’s "Clean Sunshine of the Gospel" the
praying
Indian wished to make a town on this very spot, "The east side of Mr. Flint’s pond,"
in 1647,
before they finally settled at Nagog Pond on the west side of Concord. I used often
to ascend
the cedar hill on the southeast side of this pond for the sake of the view, thence
over to the
forest westward in which the towns are quite small, as far as the mist in the northwest
horizon.
It is methinks a more extensive forest view than is afforded by the obtained from
there and the lake is well-fitted to give the impression of a lake of the woods
period. No naturalists to whom I have shown them can give a satisfactory account
of them. The highland beyond the pond affords a memorable view over it and the forest
westward
to the mountains in the horizon, a more complete and extensive forest view than can
be got from
the summit of Monadnok. According to Shepherd’s "Clean Sunshine of the Gospel" the
praying
Indian wished to make a town on this very spot, "The east side of Mr. Flint’s pond,"
in 1647,
before they finally settled at Nagog Pond on the west side of Concord. I used often
to ascend
the cedar hill on the southeast side of this pond for the sake of the view, thence
over to the
forest westward in which the towns are quite small, as far as the mist in the northwest
horizon.
It is methinks a more extensive forest view than is afforded by the obtained from
there and the lake is well-fitted to give the impression of a lake of the woods
period. No naturalists to whom I have shown them can give a satisfactory account
of them. The highland beyond the pond affords a memorable view over it and the forest
westward
to the mountains in the horizon, a more complete and extensive forest view than can
be got from
the summit of Monadnok. According to Shepherd’s "Clean Sunshine of the Gospel" the
praying
Indian wished to make a town on this very spot, "The east side of Mr. Flint’s pond,"
in 1647,
before they finally settled at Nagog Pond on the west side of Concord. I used often
to ascend
the cedar hill on the southeast side of this pond for the sake of the view, thence
over to the
forest westward in which the towns are quite small, as far as the mist in the northwest
horizon.
It is methinks a more extensive forest view than is afforded by the obtained from
there and the lake is well-fitted to give the impression of a lake of the woods
period.
Flint’s Pond
! Such is the poverty of our nomenclature. What right had the
unclean and stupid farmer,
whose farm abutted
on the shore of
on the shore of
on the shore of
on
this sky water,
which
which
which
whose shores
he has ruthlessly laid bare, to give his name to it? Some skin-flint, who loved better
the
reflecting surface of a dollar, or a bright cent, in which he could see his own brazen
face; who regarded
even the wild ducks which
came to settle
came to settle
came to settle
settled
in it as trespassers; his fingers grown into crooked and bony talons from the lodge
habit of
grasping harpy-like;
—so it is not named for me. I go not there to see him nor to hear of him; who never
saw
it, who never bathed in it, who never loved it, who never protected it,
who never spoke a good word for it, nor thanked God that he had made it. Rather let
it be named from the
fishes that swim in it, the wild fowl or quadrupeds which frequent it, the wild flowers
which grow by its
shores, or some wild man or child the thread of whose history is interwoven with its
own; not from him
who could show no title to it but the deed which a like-minded neighbor or legislature
gave him,—him who
thought only of its money value; whose presence perchance cursed all the shore; who
exhausted the land
around it, and would fain have exhausted the waters within it; who regretted only
that it was not English
hay or cranberry meadow,—there was nothing to redeem it, forsooth, in his eyes,—and
would have drained
and sold it for the mud at its bottom. It did not turn his mill, and it was no
privilege
to him to behold it. I respect not his labors, his farm where every thing has its
price, who
would carry the landscape, who would carry his God, to market, if he could get any
thing for him; who
goes to market
for
his god as it is; on whose farm nothing grows free,
whose fields bear no crops, whose meadows no flowers, whose trees no fruits, but dollars;
who loves not
the beauty of his fruits, whose fruits are not ripe for him till they are turned to
dollars. Give me the
poverty that enjoys true wealth. Farmers are respectable and interesting to me in
proportion as they are
poor,—poor farmers. A model farm! where the house stands like a fungus in a muck-heap,
chambers for men,
horses, oxen, and swine, cleansed and uncleansed, all contiguous to one another! Stocked
with men! A
great grease-spot, redolent of manures and buttermilk! Under a high state of cultivation,
being manured
with the hearts and brains of men! As if you were to raise your potatoes in the church-yard!
Such is a
model farm.
No, no; if the fairest features of the landscape are to be named after men, let
them be the noblest and worthiest men alone. Let our lakes receive as true names at
least as the Icarian
Sea,
where "still the shore" a "brave attempt resounds."
Goose Pond,
of small extent, is on my way to Flint’s; Fair-Haven, an expansion of Concord River,
said to
contain some seventy acres, is a mile southwest; and White Pond, of about forty acres,
is a mile and a
half beyond Fair-Haven. This is my lake country.
These, with Concord River, are my water privileges; and night and day, year in year
out, they
grind such grist as I carry to them.
Since the woodcutters, and the railroad, and I myself have profaned Walden, perhaps
the most attractive,
if not the most beautiful, of all our lakes, the gem of the woods, is White Pond;—a
poor name from its
commonness, whether derived from the remarkable purity of its waters or the color
of its sands. In these
as in other respects, however, it is a lesser twin of Walden. They are so much alike
that you would say
they must be connected under ground. It has the same stony shore, and its waters are
of the same hue. As
at Walden, in sultry dog-day weather, looking down through the woods on some of its
bays which are not so
deep but that the reflection from the bottom tinges them, its waters are of a misty
bluish-green or
glaucous color. Many years since I used to go there to collect the sand by cart-loads,
to make
sand-paper
with, and I have continued to visit it ever since. One who frequents it proposes to
call it Virid
Lake.
Perhaps it might be called Yellow-Pine Lake, from the following circumstance. About
fifteen years
ago you could see the top of a pitch-pine, of the kind called yellow-pine hereabouts,
though it is not a
distinct species, projecting above the surface in deep water, many rods from the shore.
It was even
supposed by some that the pond had sunk, and this was one of the primitive forest
that formerly stood
there. I find that even so long ago as 1792, in a "Topographical Description of the
Town of
Concord,"
by one of its citizens, in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society,
the author,
after speaking of Walden and White Ponds, adds, "In the middle of the latter may be
seen, when the water
is very low, a tree which appears as if it grew in the place where it now stands,
although the roots are
fifty feet below the surface of the water; the top of this tree is broken off, and
at that place measures
fourteen inches in diameter." In the spring of ’49 I talked with the man
who lives nearest the pond in Sudbury, who told me that it was he who got out this
tree ten or
fifteen years before. As near as he could remember, it stood twelve or fifteen rods
from the shore, where
the water was thirty or forty feet deep. It was in the winter, and he had been getting
out ice in the
forenoon, and had resolved that in the afternoon, with the aid of his neighbors, he
would take out the
old yellow-pine. He sawed a channel in the ice toward the shore, and hauled it over
and along and out on
to the ice with oxen; but, before he had gone far in his work, he was surprised to
find that it was wrong
end upward, with the stumps of the branches pointing down, and the small end firmly
fastened in the sandy
bottom. It was about a foot in diameter at the big end, and he had expected to get
a good saw-log, but it
was so rotten as to be fit only for fuel, if for that. He had some of it in his shed
then , but unfortunately I did not think it worth the while to look at it,
though I should have done my part more faithfully if I had
then , but unfortunately I did not think it worth the while to look at it,
though I should have done my part more faithfully if I had
then , but unfortunately I did not think it worth the while to look at it,
though I should have done my part more faithfully if I had
then.
There were marks of an axe and of woodpeckers on the but. He thought that it might
have been a
dead tree on the shore,
which
which
which
but
was finally blown over into the pond, and after the top had become waterlogged, while
the
but-end
was still dry and light, had drifted out and sunk wrong end up. His
old father of 80, still alive
old father of 80, still alive
old father of 80, still alive
father, eighty years old,
could not remember when it was not there.
As every lake has its hill or mountain presiding over it, nearer or further off,
so from this among our Concord Lakes, Nobscot Hill appears to best advantage
As every lake has its hill or mountain presiding over it, nearer or further off,
so from this among our Concord Lakes, Nobscot Hill appears to best advantage
As every lake has its hill or mountain presiding over it, nearer or further off,
so from this among our Concord Lakes, Nobscot Hill appears to best advantage
Several pretty large logs may still be seen lying on the bottom, where, owing to
the undulation of the surface, they look like huge water snakes in motion.
This pond has rarely been profaned by a boat, for there is little in it to tempt a
fisherman.
Instead of the white lily, which requires mud, or the common sweet flag, the blue
flag (
Iris versicolor
) grows thinly in the pure
water of this pond
water of this pond
water of this pond
water,
rising from the stony bottom all around the shore,
where it is visited by humming birds in June,
and the color
of both its
of both its
of both its
both of its
bluish blades and its
flowers is in singular harmony
flowers is in singular harmony
flowers is in singular harmony
flowers,
and especially their
reflections in the water
reflections in the water
reflections in the water
reflections,
are in singular harmony with the
greenish
greenish
greenish
glaucous
water.
Great crystals on the surface of the earth—this & Walden—! How much fairer
than the xxxxxxxxx stone found hereabouts
White Pond & Walden are great crystals on the surface of the earth,
Lakes of Light
Great crystals on the surface of the earth—this & Walden—! How much fairer
than the xxxxxxxxx stone found hereabouts
White Pond & Walden are great crystals on the surface of the earth,
Lakes of Light
Great crystals on the surface of the earth—this & Walden—! How much fairer
than the xxxxxxxxx stone found hereabouts
White Pond & Walden are great crystals on the surface of the earth,
Lakes of Light
Great crystals on the surface of the earth—this & Walden—! How much fairer
than the xxxxxxxxx stone found hereabouts
White Pond & Walden are great crystals on the surface of the earth,
Lakes of Light
White Pond and Walden are great crystals on the surface of the earth, Lakes of
Light.
If they were permanently congealed, and small enough to be clutched, they would,
perchance, be
carried off by slaves,
like precious stones,
like precious stones,
like precious stones,
like precious stones,
like precious stones,
to adorn the heads of emperors; but being liquid, and ample, and
securely ours
secured to us & our
heirs
successors forever
securely ours
secured to us & our
heirs
successors forever
securely ours
secured to us & our
heirs
successors forever
securely ours
secured to us & our
heirs
successors forever
secured to us and our successors forever,
we disregard them,
and run after the diamond of Kohinoor. They are too pure to have a market
value;
and run after the diamond of Kohinoor. They are too pure to have a market
value;
and run after the diamond of Kohinoor. They are too pure to have a market
value;
and run after the diamond of Kohinoor. They are too pure to have a market
value;
and run after the diamond of Kohinoor. They are too pure to have a market value;
they contain no muck.
How much more beautiful than our lives,
are they— how much more transparent than our characters—are
they
are they— how much more transparent than our characters—are
they
are they— how much more transparent than our characters—are
they
are they— how much more transparent than our characters—are
they
how much more transparent than our characters, are they!
We never learned meanness of them. How much
more beautiful than the pools before our doors in which our
fairer than the pool before the farmer’s door in which his
more beautiful than the pools before our doors in which our
fairer than the pool before the farmer’s door in which his
more beautiful than the pools before our doors in which our
fairer than the pool before the farmer’s door in which his
more beautiful than the pools before our doors in which our
fairer than the pool before the farmer’s door in which his
fairer than the pool before the farmer’s door, in which his
ducks swim! Hither the clean wild ducks
come.
but
Undoubtedly, we should value them more if they were less pure—if they abounded in
sediment
come.
but
Undoubtedly, we should value them more if they were less pure—if they abounded in
sediment
come.
but
Undoubtedly, we should value them more if they were less pure—if they abounded in
sediment
come.
but
Undoubtedly, we should value them more if they were less pure—if they abounded in
sediment
come.
Nature has no human inhabitant who appreciates her. The birds with their plumage
and their notes
are in harmony with the
flowers & lakes
flowers and lakes
flowers and lakes
flowers and lakes
flowers,
but what youth or maiden conspires with the wild luxuriant beauty of Nature? She
flourishes most
alone, far from the towns where they reside. Talk of heaven! ye disgrace earth.
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