"The best image which the world can give of Paradise, is in the slope of the meadows, orchards, and cornfields on the sides of a great Alp, with its purple rocks and eternal snows above; this excellence not being in anywise a matter referable to feeling, or individual prefer ences, but demonstrable by calm enumeration of the number of lovely colors on the rocks, the varied grouping of the trees, and quantity of noble incidents in stream, crag, or cloud, presented to the eye at any given moment."

'Of the grandeur or expression of the hills, I have not spoken; how far they are great, or strong, or terrible, I do not for the moment consider, because vastness, and strength, and terror, are not to all minds subjects of desired contemplation. It may make no difference to some men whether a natural object be large or small, whether it be strong or feeble. But loveliness of color, perfectness of form, endlessness of change, wonderfulness of structure, are precious to all undiseased human minds; and the superiority of the mountains in all these things to the lowland is, I repeat, as measurable as the richness of a painted window matched with a white one, or the wealth of a museum compared with that of a simply furnished chamber. They seem to have been built for the human. rue, as at once their schools and cathedrals; full of treasures of illuminated manuscript for the scholar, kindly in simple lessons to the worker, quiet in pale cloisters for the thinker, glorious in holiness for the worshipper. And of these great cathedrals of the earth, with their gates of rock, pavements of cloud, choirs of stream and stone, altars of snow, and vaults of purple, traversed by the continual stars,—of these, as we have seen, it was written, nor long ago, by one of the best of the poor human race for whom they were built, wondering in himself for whom their Creator could have made them, and thinking to have entirely discerned the Divine intent in them—' They are inhabited by the Beasts.'"

RUSKIN.

Two groups of mountains are included under the general title of "The White Hills,"-one, the Mount Washington chain, or the White Mountains proper, the other, the Franconia range, of which Mount Lafayette, a thousand feet lower than Mount Washington, is the highest summit. We commence by calling attention to this simple fact, because many persons, even now, in spite of the excellent guide-books, go into New Hampshire,

with confused notions of the topography of the region which attracts them, and leave with no map in their mind's eye of what they have seen. We have even seen maps, that were regularly sold in the mountain hotels, which represented the Franconia range as a westerly continuation of the great White Mountain chain, and which placed Montreal a little south of Portland. Once a traveller who was just entering the hill country, and who seemed to be eager to find "The Notch," asked us if it was situated on the top of Mount Washington. And one guide-book, that, a very few years ago, was sold to travellers from New York and the South, described "The Profile" as only a short walk from the Willey House They are about thirty miles apart. We advise all travellers, therefore, to study a good map of the mountain region, carefully, before starting, and to consult it so faithfully, between the prominent points of their journey, that the geography of the country which gives them pleasure and refreshment, may not be distorted and dislocated in their memory.

There are four avenues of approach to the two highest ranges of the New Hampshire mountains,-the valleys of the Saco, the Merrimac, the Androscoggin, and the tributaries of the Connecticut. Railroads connect with every one of these natural paths, except the Saco. And by each line of railroad one may reach some point among the highest hills, on the evening of the same day that he leaves Boston, or in about twenty-four hours from New York.

There is ample reward, as we shall hope to show, in any method of approach. Whichever path travellers may select, they

In this delicious region.

cannot err

We shall devote a few pages to a statement of these routes, the times they require, and the general character of the scenery to which they first introduce the traveller.

And in doing this, we are entirely independent of any preferences for railway or stage companies, and of any influence from the rival

ries of hotels. This book is devoted to the scenery of the mountain region. We intend to state fairly from what points the noblest views are to be gained, what are the characteristics of each district, and along what routes the richest beauty lies; with no thought in any case of the nearness to or distance from any hotel, or stage line, or railway station. It is assumed that the public houses are all good, and that the stage lines are equally worthy of patronage. And we take it for granted, also, that travellers are moved to spend their money and time, not primarily to study the gastronomy of Coös County in New Hampshire, or to criticize the comparative upholstery of the largest houses there; but to be introduced to the richest feasts of loveliness and grandeur that are spread by the Summer around the valleys, and to be refreshed by the draperies of verdure, shadow, cloud, and color, that are hung by the Creator around and above the hills.

THE ANDROSCOGGIN VALLEY.

The quickest access to the White Mountain range itself is gained by the valley of the Androscoggin. This noble river flows by the extreme easterly base of that range, where the forms are the most noble and imposing. Within a very few miles of the foot of Mount Washington, it receives the Peabody River, which issues from the narrow Pinkham Pass between Mount Carter and the White Mountains. This stream is supplied in part from the southeast slopes of the highest mountains of the chain, and is often swollen into a tremendous torrent by the storms, or the heavy and sudden showers that drench their sides. It is the Androscoggin which has engi neered for the Grand Trunk Railway, that connects Portland and Montreal, the St. Lawrence with the Atlantic. That Company are indebted to it for service in their behalf that was patiently discharged centuries before Adam.

Leaving Boston in the morning by the Boston and Maine, or the

Eastern Railroad, for Portland, and thence at noon, by the Grand Trunk Railway, travellers reach the Alpine House in Gorham, N. II., by the cars at about five in the afternoon. They can then proceed by stage, seven or eight miles further, along the bank of the Peabody River, to the large hotel in "The Glen," a most charming opening, where the four highest elevations of the Mount Washington range are in full view from the piazza. If the weather has been dry, and the road is hard, this distance can be travelled in about an hour and a half. The road rises about eight hundred feet from the railroad in Gorham. In very muddy weather more than two hours are needed to reach "The Glen."

Some travellers have but a very few days for the whole tour of the mountain region, and desire, in that time, to see the points of interest that are the most striking, and that will produce the strongest sensation. These will hurry at once by stage to "The Glen," after their day's ride in the cars, that they may reach as quickly as possible the very base of Mount Washington. Their object will then be to make the ascent of it at once, and hurry around to "The Notch," which is thirty-six miles from "The Glen," requiring nine or ten hours by stage. Others, though they have more time at command, hasten from the cars to "The Glen," because they suppose that there is nothing worth staying to see in Gorham.

But in this they strangely mistake. The scenery is not very attractive from the front of the hotel, which was not wisely placed in the valley; but no point in the mountains offers views to be gained by walks of a mile or two, and by drives of five or six miles, that are more noble and memorable. In the latter part of this volume we shall call attention in detail to the attractions with which this whole valley, including "The Glen," is encompassed. We will simply say here that, for river scenery in connection with impressive mountain forms, the immediate vicinity of Gorham surpasses all the other districts from which the highest peaks are visible. The Androscoggin sweeps through the village with a broader bed, and in larger volume, than the Connecticut shows at Lancaster or Littleton.