THE GAP AMONG THE MOUNTAINS. 155

“Was there a great icicle there?” asked
Lucy.

“Yes,” replied Robert, “a monster. "T'was
as tall as the steeple of the meeting-house.”

“ O, what a big icicle!” said Lucy. “I should
like to see it.”

“Tf you come here next winter,” said Robert,
“ T expect you can see it.”

Strictly speaking, it was not an icicle that
Robert had seen hanging down on the face of the
rocks, the last winter, though it looked like one.
It was caused by the freezing of the water, as it
dripped down from a vast height. It looked very
much like a monstrous icicle clinging to the rock.

Here they came suddenly upon another bridge.
Lucy was surprised to see so many bridges.

“ How many brooks there are!” said Lucy.

“Ono,” said Robert, “only one brook. All
the bridges that we have come to, are over one
brook. It is the outlet of Emery’s Pond.”

« What is an outlet?” asked Lucy.

“J don’t know,” said Robert, “exactly.
They always call it the outlet.”

«What is an outlet, mother?” said Lucy.

“Why, ponds among the mountains,” replied
her mother, “ generally have little streams run-
ning into them, coming down from the Kittle
valleys, and from springs. And this water must
run out again, so that there is generally a place
where the water runs out, and that is called the
outlet.”