But Saratoga Lake is not wholly devoted to the sportsman, or to the frivolities of fashionable butterflies. The beautiful and familiar hymn commencing—
"From whence doth this union arise,
That hatred is conquer'd by love?
It fastens our souls in such ties,
That nature and time can't remove,"
was composed and sang first, upon the placid waters of this lake, by Dr. Baldwin, of Boston, and a party of clerical friends.
That charming author, N.P. Willis, relates in his own charming style the following tradition of Saratoga Lake:
"There is," he says, "an Indian superstition attached to this lake, which probably has its source in its remarkable loneliness and tranquility. The Mohawks believed that its stillness was sacred to the Great Spirit, and that if a human voice uttered a sound upon its waters, the canoe of the offender would instantly sink. A story is told of an Englishwoman, in the early days of the first settlers, who had occasion to cross this lake with a party of Indians, who, before embarking, warned her most impressively of the spell. It was a silent, breathless day, and the canoe shot over the smooth surface of the lake like an arrow. About a mile from the shore, near the center of the lake, the woman, willing to convince the savages of the weakness of their superstition, uttered a loud cry. The countenances of the Indians fell instantly to the deepest gloom. After a moment's pause, however, they redoubled their exertions, and in frowning silence drove the light bark like an arrow over the waters. They reached the shore in safety, and drew up the canoe, and the woman rallied the chief on his credulity. 'The Great Spirit is merciful,' answered the scornful Mohawk, 'He knows that a white woman cannot hold her tongue.'"
BALL ROOM GRAND UNION.
Chapman's Hill
Is a mile beyond the Lake House, and one hundred and eighty feet above the level of the lake. A charming view is afforded. Immediately below, the lake presents a mirrored surface of several square miles, while the meadows and table lands on its western shore may be traced with all their simple beauty until they merge into the Kayaderosseras range of mountains.