下载辰思小说免费APP
“No，no，Basil，“criedhiswife。“Itwouldbesacrilege！Allthatissacredtothosedearyoungdaysofours；andIwouldn’tthinkoftryingtorepeatit。Ourownghostswouldriseupinthatdining-roomtoreproachusforourintrusion！Oh，perhapswehavedoneawickedthingincomingthisjourney！Weoughttohaveleftthepastalone；weshallonlymarourmemoriesofallthesebeautifulplaces。DoyousupposeBuffalocanbeaspoeticalasitwasthen？Buffalo！Thenamedoesn’tinvitetheMuseverymuch。Perhapsitneverwasverypoetical！Oh，Basil，dear，I’mafraidwehaveonlycometofindoutthatweweremistakenabouteverything！Let’sleaveRochesteralone，atanyrate！“
I’mnottroubled！Wewon’tdisturbourdreamofRochester；butIdon’tdespairofBuffalo。I’msurethatBuffalowillbeallthatourfancyeverpaintedit。IbelieveinBuffalo。“
“Well，well，“murmuredIsabel，“Ihopeyou’reright；“andsheputsomethingstogetherforleavingtheircaratBuffalo，whiletheywerestilltwohoursaway。
Whentheyreachedaplacewherethelandmateditslevelwiththelevelofthelake，theyranintoawildernessofrailroadcars，inaworldwherelifeseemedtobeoperatedsolelybylocomotivesandtheirhelplessminions。Thebellowingandbleatingtrainswerearrivingineverydirection，notonlyalongthegroundflooroftheplain，butstatelystretchesoftrestle-work，whichcurvedandextendedacrosstheplain，carriedthemtoandfrooverhead。Thetravelersownedthatthisrailroadsuburbhaditsownimpressiveness，andtheysaidthatthetrestle-workwasasnobleineffectasthelinesofaqueductthatstalkacrosstheRomanCampagna。PerhapsthiswasbecausetheyhadnotseentheCampagnaoritsaqueductsforagreatwhile；buttheyweresogladtofindthemselvesinthespiritoftheirformerjourneyagainthattheywereamiabletoeverything。Whenthechildrenfirstcaughtsightofthelake’sdeliciousblue，andcriedoutthatitwaslovelierthanthesea，theyfeltquitealocalprideintheirpreference。ItwaswhatIsabelhadsaidtwelveyearsbefore，onfirstbeholdingthelake。
ButtheydidnotreallyseethelaketilltheyhadtakenthetrainforNiagaraFalls，afterbreakfastinginthedepot，wherethechildren，usedtotheseverenativeorthepatronizingIrishministrationsofBostonrestaurantsandhotels，reveledforthefirsttimeintheaffectionatedevotionofablackwaiter。Therewasalreadyaridiculousabundanceandvarietyonthetable；butthiswaiterbroughtthemstrawberriesandagainstrawberries，andrepeatedplatesofgriddlecakeswithmaplesyrup；andhehungoverthebackoffirstonechairandthenanotherwithanunselfishjoyintheappetitesofthebreakfasterswhichgaveBasilrenewedhopesofhisrace。“Suchraptureinservingarguesalargenessofnaturewhichwillberecognizedhereafter，“hesaid，feelingaboutinhiswaistcoatpocketforaquarter。Itseemedapitytorenderthewaiter’szealretroactivelyinterested，butinviewofthefactthathepossiblyexpectedthequarter，therewasnothingelsetodo；andbyamysteriousstrokeofgratitudethewaiterdeliveredthemintothehandsofafriend，whotookanotherquarterfromthemforcarryingtheirbagsandwrapstothetrain。Thissecondretainerapprovedtheiradmirationoftheaestheticformsandcolorsofthedepotcolonnade；andbeingaskedifthatwerethedepotwhoseroofhadfalleninsomeyearsbefore，proudlyrepliedthatitwas。
“Therewereagreatmanykilled，weren’tthere？“askedBasil，withsympatheticsatisfactioninthedisaster。Theporterseemedhumiliated；
heconfessedthemortifyingtruththatthelossoflifewassmall，butherecoveredajustself-respectinadding，“Iftheroofhadfalleninfiveminutessooner，itwouldhavekilledaboutthreehundredpeople。“
BasilhadpromisedthechildrenasightoftheRapidsbeforetheyreachedtheFalls，andtheyheldhimrigidlyaccountablefromthemomenttheyenteredthetrain，andbegantorunoutofthecitybetweentheriverandthecanal。Heattemptedadiversionwi
