I did not plaster till it was freezing weather.  I brought over some whiter and cleaner sand for this purpose from the opposite shore of the pond in a boat， a sort of conveyance which would have tempted me to go much farther if necessary.  My house had in the meanwhile been shingled down to the ground on every side.  In lathing I was pleased to be able to send home each nail with a single blow of the hammer， and it was my ambition to transfer the plaster from the board to the wall neatly and rapidly.  I remembered the story of a conceited fellow， who， in fine clothes， was wont to lounge about the village once， giving advice to workmen.  Venturing one day to substitute deeds for words， he turned up his cuffs，seized a plasterer's board， and having loaded his trowel without mishap， with a complacent look toward the lathing overhead， made a bold gesture thitherward； and straightway， to his complete discomfiture， received the whole contents in his ruffled bosom.  I admired anew the economy and convenience of plastering， which so effectually shuts out the cold and takes a handsome finish， and I learned the various casualties to which the plasterer is liable.  I was surprised to see how thirsty the bricks were which drank up all the moisture in my plaster before I had smoothed it， and how many pailfuls of water it takes to christen a new hearth.  I had the previous winter made a small quantity of lime by burning the shells of the Unio fluviatilis， which our river affords， for the sake of the experiment； so that I knew where my materials came from.  I might have got good limestone within a mile or two and burned it myself， if I had cared to do so.

　　The pond had in the meanwhile skimmed over in the shadiest and shallowest coves， some days or even weeks before the general freezing.  The first ice is especially interesting and perfect，being hard， dark， and transparent， and affords the best opportunity that ever offers for examining the bottom where it is shallow； for you can lie at your length on ice only an inch thick， like a skater insect on the surface of the water， and study the bottom at your leisure， only two or three inches distant， like a picture behind a glass， and the water is necessarily always smooth then.  There are many furrows in the sand where some creature has travelled about and doubled on its tracks； and， for wrecks， it is strewn with the cases of caddis-worms made of minute grains of white quartz.  Perhaps these have creased it， for you find some of their cases in the furrows， though they are deep and broad for them to make.  But the ice itself is the object of most interest， though you must improve the earliest opportunity to study it.  If you examine it closely the morning after it freezes， you find that the greater part of the bubbles， which at first appeared to be within it， are against its under surface， and that more are continually rising from the bottom；while the ice is as yet comparatively solid and dark， that is， you see the water through it.  These bubbles are from an eightieth to an eighth of an inch in diameter， very clear and beautiful， and you see your face reflected in them through the ice.  There may be thirty or forty of them to a square inch.  There are also already within the ice narrow oblong perpendicular bubbles about half an inch long，sharp cones with the apex upward； or oftener， if the ice is quite fresh， minute spherical bubbles one directly above another， like a string of beads.  But these within the ice are not so numerous nor obvious as those beneath.  I sometimes used to cast on stones to try the strength of the ice， and those which broke through carried in air with them， which formed very large and conspicuous white bubbles beneath.  One day when I came to the same place forty-eight hours afterward， I found that those large bubbles were still perfect，though an inch more of ice had formed， as I could see distinctly by the seam in the edge of a cake.  But as the last two days had been very warm， like an Indian summer， the ice was not now transparent，showing the dark green color of the water， and the bottom， but opaque and whitish or gray， and though twice as thick was hardly stronger than before， for the air bubbles had greatly expanded under this heat and run together， and lost their regularity； they were no longer one directly over another， but often like silvery coins poured from a bag， one overlapping another， or in thin flakes， as if occupying slight cleavages.  The beauty of the ice was gone， and it was too late to study the bottom.  Being curious to know what position my great bubbles occupied with regard to the new ice， I broke out a cake containing a middling sized one， and turned it bottom upward.  The new ice had formed around and under the bubble，so that it was included between the two ices.  It was wholly in the lower ice， but close against the upper， and was flattish， or perhaps slightly lenticular， with a rounded edge， a quarter of an inch deep by four inches in diameter； and I was surprised to find that directly under the bubble the ice was melted with great regularity in the form of a saucer reversed， to the height of five eighths of an inch in the middle， leaving a thin partition there between the water and the bubble， hardly an eighth of an inch thick； and in many places the small bubbles in this partition had burst out downward，and probably there was no ice at all under the largest bubbles，which were a foot in diameter.  I inferred that the infinite number of minute bubbles which I had first seen against the under surface of the ice were now frozen in likewise， and that each， in its degree， had operated like a burning-glass on the ice beneath to melt and rot it.  These are the little air-guns which contribute to make the ice crack and whoop.

　　我是直到氣候真的很冷了，才開始泥墻的，為了這個緣故，我駕了一葉扁舟到湖對岸去取來更潔白的細沙。有了這樣的交通工具，必要的話，就是旅行得更遠我也是高興的。在這期間，我的屋子已經四面都釘滿了薄薄的木板條子。在釘這些板條的時候，我很高興，我能夠一錘就釘好一只釘子。我更野心勃勃，要迅速而漂亮地把灰漿從木板上涂到墻上。我記起了講一個自負的家伙的那個故事。他穿了很好的衣服，常常在村里走來走去，指點工人。有一天他忽然想用實踐來代替他的理論了，他卷起了袖子，拿了一塊泥水工用的木板，放上灰漿，總算沒出岔子，于是得意洋洋地望了望頭頂上的板條，用了一個勇敢的動作把灰漿糊上去，馬上出丑，全部灰漿掉回到他那傲慢的胸口。我再次欣賞灰漿，它能這樣經濟，這樣便利地擊退了寒冷，它平滑又漂亮，我懂得了一個泥水匠會碰到怎樣一些事故。使我驚奇的是，在我泥平以前，磚頭如何饑渴地吸人了灰漿中的全部水分，為了造一個新的壁爐，我用了多少桶水。前一個冬天，我就曾經試驗過，用我們的河流中學名Unio fluviatilis的一種介殼燒制成少量的石灰；所以我已知道從什么地方去取得材料了。如果我高興的話，也許我會走一兩英里路，找到很好的石灰石，自己動手來燒石灰。

　　這時候，最照不到陽光和最淺的湖凹中已經結起了薄冰，比整個湖結冰早了幾天，有些地方早了幾星期。第一塊冰特別有趣，特別美滿，因為它堅硬，黝黑，透明，借以觀察淺水地方的水，機會更好；因為在一英寸厚薄的冰上你已經可以躺下來，像水上的掠水蟲，然后愜愜意意地研究湖底，距離你不過兩三英寸，好像玻璃后面的畫片，那時的水當然一直是平靜的。沙上有許多溝槽，若干生物曾經爬過去，又從原路爬口來：至于殘骸，那兒到處是白石英細粒形成的石蠶殼。也許是它們形成溝槽的吧，因為石蠶就在溝槽之中，雖然由它們來形成，而那些溝槽卻又顯得太寬闊而大。不過，冰本身是最有趣的東西，你得利用最早的機會來研究它。如果你就在凍冰以后的那天早晨仔細觀看它，你可以發現那些仿佛是在冰層中間的氣泡，實際上卻是附在冰下面的表層的，還有好些氣泡正從水底升上來；因為冰塊還是比較結實，比較黝黑的，所以你可以穿過它看到水。這些氣泡的直徑大約從一英寸的八十分之一到八分之一，非常清晰而又非常美麗，你能看到你自己的臉反映在冰下面的這些氣泡上。一平方英寸內可以數出三四十個氣泡來。也有一些是在冰層之內的，狹小的，橢圓的，垂直的，約半英寸長，還有圓錐形的，頂朝上面，如果是剛剛凍結的冰，常常有一串珠子似的圓形氣泡，一個頂在另一個的上面。但在冰層中間的這些氣泡并沒有附在冰下面的那么多，也沒那么明顯。我常常投擲些石子去試試冰的力量，那些穿冰而過的石子帶了空氣下去，就在下面形成了很大的很明顯的白氣泡。有一天，我過了四十八小時之后再去老地方看看，雖然那窟窿里已經又結了一英寸厚的冰了，但是我看到那些大氣泡還很美好，我從一塊冰邊上的裂縫里看得很清楚。可是由于前兩天溫暖得仿佛小陽春，現在冰不再是透明的，透山水的暗綠色，看得到水底，而是不透明的，呈現灰白色，冰層已經比以前厚了一倍了，卻不比以前堅固。熱量使氣泡大大擴展，凝集在一塊，卻變得不規則了，不再一個頂著一個，往往像一只袋子里倒出來的銀幣，堆積在一起，有的成了薄片，仿佛只占了一個細小的裂隙。

　　冰的美感已經消失，再要研究水底已經來不及了。我很好奇，想知道我那個大氣泡在新冰那兒占了什么位置，我挖起了一塊有中型氣泡的冰塊來，把它的底朝了天。在氣泡之下和周圍已經結了一層新的冰，所以氣泡是在兩片冰的中間；它全部是在下層中間的，卻又貼近上層，扁平的，也許有點像扁豆形，圓邊，深四分之一英寸，直徑四英寸；我驚奇地發現，就在氣泡的下面，冰溶化得很有規則，像一只倒置的茶托，在中央八分之五英寸的高度，水和氣泡之間有著一個薄薄的分界線，薄得還不到一英寸的八分之一，在許多地方，這分界線中的小氣泡向下爆裂，也許在最大的直徑一英尺的氣泡底下完全是沒有冰的。我恍然大悟了，我第一次看到的附在冰下面的小氣泡現在也給凍入了冰塊中，它們每一個都以不同程度在下面對冰塊起了取火鏡的作用，要溶化冰塊。溶冰爆裂有聲，全是這些小氣泡干的花樣。

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