Page:Literary pilgrimages of a naturalist (IA literarypilgrima00packrich).pdf/242

 limited only by the requirements of safety. Vermont whole-heartedness runs through the train chaff, however, and the favorite salutation is "neighbor." To take the trip is like attending a lodge meeting, and long before the final stop you feel a friendly interest in everybody present. If you don't know most of the others by their first names it is because you have not kept your ears open. At this season at least you learn how strong a hold the good old business of sugar making still has on the hearts of the people of the Green Mountain State, and the gossip of the groves and farms is yours without the asking. The free, wholesome air of the mountains is in it all, and as you breathe more and more of it you feel that the good old-time New Englander does not need to come back. He is there, up under the purple shadow of Haystack, talking maple sugar and drawing its essence of vitality from the white wood of mighty trees that clothe mountain slopes with the kindly peace of their stately groves.