after being hauled in, all out of pure regard for the hungry and worried creatures, of course.  Well, this party, all enthusiastic and eager, cast the line, when, lo! a monster pickerel gobbled the bait and away he went, carrying the floats under and the fisherman over and into the watery deep, with his heel and head just above water level only.  The fish, including the “odd one,” were subsequently pulled in by the man in the boat who is accustomed to “takes.”

Boarding can be had, at the hotels and private houses in the vicinity of the lake, at from seven to ten dollars per week.  For the summer season, country life should by all means be the rule.  In the inclement portions of the year the towns are most desirable; St. Paul and Minneapolis taking the lead as places of resort, and they are, at these seasons, the most desirable.

In the vicinity of St. Paul there are a number of lakes.  The nearest, Lake Como, is a pretty sheet of water, and affords one of the fashionable drives out of the city.  It is intended, we believe, in the near future, by the authorities of St. Paul, to incorporate it, with several hundred acres, into a grand park and pleasure-grounds.  It should be done.

White Bear Lake, a dozen miles out on the Lake Superior and M. Railroad, is a favorite place with all classes.  Its shores are thickly wooded and the fishing rivals that of Minnetonka.  There are a score of boats anchored on the shore of this lake awaiting visitors; and the two hotels provide for the needful rest and comfort of guests.  This point is second in interest only to that of Minnetonka Lake for both invalids and pleasure-seekers during the summer and fall months.

Up the Minnesota valley, while it is the most attractive in scenery and most fertile in crops, is not quite as desirable for the invalid as the places already named.  Though Shakopee, Le Sueur, St. Peter’s, and Madelia are not very objectionable in a sanitary point of view.

Still the valley is sloping, and its villages and towns are, for the most part, situated on the low lands, and cannot have as dry or desirable an atmosphere for patients as some other places.  Yet the exceptions noted above are, perhaps, above the average in health so far as location is concerned.  If, however, any invalid has relatives or friends living in the State and can find a home among them, then, even if the location was not as good as other points, this would be counterbalanced by other advantages such as come from being among them.

The principle town of this valley is Mankato.  This is destined to outstrip many of those places which at present outrank it.  It must become the most important railroad centre in the State outside of the capital.  Situate in the very heart of the most fertile district, and possessing a population both industrious and enterprising, its future is bright and promising to a high degree.  Its location is unfavorable for invalids, and should, as a rule, be avoided by them.  Fogs occur here, and the place is low, and soil too rich, and of a generally too wet character to insure the highest health to delicate and enfeebled visitors.