arian in his crowded halls, prate about Liberty. | damp, dark chasm, and stood upon the brink Believe me, friend, they only worship a phantasm of a foaming caldron of emerald-tinted water. or a graven image, the conceit of their own brain, Looking upward we could see the stream pitchthe work of their own hands. Ye who would ing from a narrow cleft in the rocks, seventy feet worship at the shrine of the true goddess, seek at a single leap. her temples in the untrodden wilderness. What means this tumultuous joy at the smell of the woods? this proud swelling of soul as you tread the interminable aisles of the forest? this ennobling consciousness of might and right as you breathe the untainted air of nature's wide domain? It is that you have come to your lawful inheritance. The instinctive life-long yearnings of the soul are satisfied-you are free. When you get hungry, pitch in and make your living; when you get tired and long for society and the fleshpots of civilization, go back, resume your chains, your duties, and necessities; bear them with cheerfulness, and don't talk twaddle about Freedom. We accomplished our course at a dashing gallop, and then, at a signal from our guide, drew rein and dismounted. Tying our steeds beside the main route we took a foot-path through a piny thicket, which presently brought us to the verge of a rocky precipice overhanging a narrow gorge whose depths were concealed from the eye by masses of dark foliage. From the wild abyss we could hear the roar of the waterfall, and the rocks on which we stood seemed to tremble with the shock. Descending the cliff by irregular natural ladder ways, eked out with notched logs -crossing chasms by shaky bridges of fallen timber-we at length reached the bottom of a deep, ELLEN. This was something worth seeing, and a worthy terminus to our spirited ride. We spent half an hour in climbing from rock to rock, crossing and recrossing the stream at some personal risk, to find the best points of view; and finally taking leave with reluctance, we reclimbed the cliff and remounted our horses. Retracing the road for about a mile, we again left our saddles and turned into the wood by a path leading up the great mountain. A walk of half a mile brought us to the top of a jutting spur overhanging a water-chiseled chasm through which a bright stream toiled with hoarse murmurings; while from far above on the mountain, where rocks and fir-trees crown the misty heights, the Crystal Cascade comes skipping down like a white-robed undine hasting to plunge herself in the gulf below. The characteristics of the two waterfalls are finely contrasted-each beautiful of its kind, and both sufficiently impressive not to be easily forgotten. Glen Ellis, with its cavernous depths, its dark-browed precipices and gloomy hemlocks, is haunted by the earth-born gnomes, while sylphides and undines, the fairer spirits of the air and water, dance among the mists of the Crystal Cascade. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Once more to horse and back to our hotel in full gallop, where we arrived about sunset, gratified, exhausted, deliciously hungry and sleepy. Supper and bed soon quieted these pleasing emotions, and added to the agreeable reminiscences of our afternoon ride. After a night of refreshing sleep, I rose early and hastened down "to greet the opening day;" but on the piazza I met with another greeting, which for the time made me forget both the sunrise and the mountains. There, in all the jocund freshness of life's morning, the perfect grace of twenty summers, stood my sweet friend and compatriot Ellen Hardy. She was earnestly watching the lofty peaks, just gilded by the rays of the coming sun, so that I approached her unobserved. In her dainty mouth she held a rose, and her clear hazel eye sparkled with the golden light reflected from the illumined hills. Here, I thought, if a man was disposed to be come an idolater, is something that he might wor- and made motions as if challenging him to a ship. As I pronounced her name she turned quick-wrestle. He seemed half-disposed to go in, and ly, and in the sudden flush of cordial recognition declared if the bear would wrestle fair he could I imprinted a kiss on her red lips. It was certainly unpremeditated on my part, and I don't think Ellen quite intended it; for she blushed rosy red, and in that earnest, gushing manner of hers which enriches all her loveliness, she said, what was meant and accepted as a full and satisfactory explanation, "I was so glad to hear the tones of a familiar voice, and to see the face of one of our own people. Papa will be so much delighted." "Dick Dashaway is with me," I said. "I knew you were traveling somewhere together," she replied; "but did not know precisely where. Papa has talked of you frequently, and hoped to meet you. He is so little accustomed to traveling that he gets lonesome and homesick; but as he came solely for my pleasure, he seems determined to complete the job before he returns, flattering himself that I will have had enough of it to last me for some time to come." On comparing notes I found we had passed them in Portland, and that they had come over from Gorham late last evening. As people began to gather upon the piazza I proposed a more extended walk; but Ellen excused herself, and ran to tell her father of our presence. After she was gone I picked up the rose she had dropped in the confusion of our meeting, and stuck it in my button-hole; but perceiving Dick coming to join me, I hid it in my vest to avoid any impertinent questions. Dick complained of being a little stiff from yesterday's ride and proposed a morning julep, saying that there was a man here who pretended to know how to make them. I carelessly consented, and in due time the drinks were served. Dick pronounced his a failure, and the maker a humbug; but continued absorbing, on the great and well-established principle that something is better than nothing. I took mine mechanically, and was raising it to my mouth, but, moved by a sudden impulse, I jerked glass and all out upon the green. "What's the matter?" cried Dick, in astonishment. "Was there a fly in it?" I replied that this morning I did care to profane my lips with such stuff. "Well," quoth he, "you've turned squeamish very suddenly. I've seen you drink worse; and, moreover, why did you break the glass? It will only add ten cents to our bill." I said I was glad to perceive he was getting more economical, and as it seemed essential to man's happiness that he should break something occasionally, I thought ten cents' worth a very moderate indulgence. "No retrospections, Cousin Bob. Come; I feel jolly; let us go down and plague the bear." We walked down and found Bruin in an uncommonly lively mood, exhibiting his antics before a dozen or twenty admiring spectators. Dick swaggered up within a few feet of him, when the bear stood up, poked out his tongue, throw him. One of the by-standers remarked that the brute was disposed to be vicious, and advised Dick to keep out of his reach. To this friendly warning he responded by deliberately walking around the animal, and crossing his beat, leaned in careless bravado against the pole in the centre. Bruin's little eyes twinkled with mischief, but he took no apparent notice of the intruder until he had edged around so as to get between him and the hotel, the only chance of escape in the opposite direction being over a steep bank. When satisfied with the position of his game he turned suddenly and made a rush. Taken by surprise, Dick looked right and left, and in his confusion sprung upon the pole. Bruin asked for nothing better, for although the biped was a good climber, the bear considered himself a better. But he did not consider that his opponent had three jumps advantage in the start; and then the thirty feet of chain hanging to his own neck got heavier with every foot of elevation. These equalizing circumstances made the race a pretty even one. The male spectators laughed and applauded, while the ladies scream ed. Any one who has had experience knows that, above a certain limit, pole-climbing is no joke. At the height of twenty feet, more or less, my champion gave signs of exhaustion, and seemed disposed to turn the race into a fight. He stopped, and looking down, disengaged one of his legs, ready to give the pursuer a back-set when he got too near. The bear, in return, raised one of his formidable paws, at the sight of which Dick folded up and made another desperate effort. As he rose Bruin grabbed and caught his coat-tail. At this moment one of the hostlers ran in, and seizing the chain, dragged the animal down, who brought with him a fair proportion of his enemy's surcoat as a trophy. Dick now slid down, and hurried back to his room as soon as possible to readjust his wardrobe. through a half-opened door, a young lady appareled for breakfast, who was rubbing her lips with Cologne, I supposed to cool a fever blister. Dick made a rush toward her; but I collared him in time to prevent his entrance, while the young person closed the door in his face with an expressive bang. I remonstrated sharply with my companion for his absurd behavior, who apologized generally to me and every one else who might be offended, swore he thought the lady was Miss Hardy, and finally intimated his belief that the julep he had swallowed had been drugged, for he never had one to serve him so before. I suggested that possibly the ignorant manufacturer had put water in it. At the table we met our Virginia friends; and, as may be imagined, we had a merry meal of it. Ellen was lively, the Squire quite glorified, at meeting with us; and Dick, who began on a very subdued note, rose to brilliancy as the conversation progressed without any allusion to his adventure with the bear. I was myself soon When he had accomplished this in a satisfactory manner I advised him to give his mustache an extra twirl, as he would probably see some one at breakfast that he didn't expect. "Who is that?" he asked, staring at me like convinced that they knew nothing of it, for the a scared frog. Squire was too much of a wag to let so fair an "I saw by the register that Squire Hardy and opportunity slip; and as for Ellen, she possessdaughter got here last evening." "You're trying to quiz me, Cousin Robert." ed, by right of inheritance, all her father's native humor, concentrated by a refinement and keen "As I am a true man, it is so. And for bet-ness of perception peculiar to her sex. That ter assurance, I saw the young lady herself about an hour ago." "Good Heavens!" he exclaimed. "Do you think she saw me making a fool of myself down there? Why, Cousin Robert, if I had thought she was looking on, the darnd bear might have swallowed me whole before I would have yielded an inch!" "Come on; we'll ascertain at breakfast whether she saw you or not; and if she did, I'll warrant she will thank you for a good laugh." As we passed along the passage we perceived, THE FEVER BLISTER sensitive and romantic youth who, lured by the sparkle of her merry eye, sought to win the owner's favor, must tread with circumspection the narrow and slippery limit which divides the sublime from the ridiculous. I determined, therefore, not to "peach," but to hold the bear story in terrorem over my comrade, as a check upon his wild humors and vagaries. After breakfast the ascent of Mount Washington was proposed, and I was sent to consult the oracles on the subject. The summit was clear, the day beautiful, and promised to continue so. The horses were accordingly ordered, and in due time we were all mounted and on our way. The whole party consisted of fifteen or twenty persons-ladies and gentlemen. But as we mounted and rode off in detachments, our quartette taking the lead, I did not interest myself in the composition of the cavalcade which followed. In this I showed bad generalship, as circumstances will prove that a little foreknowledge might have prevented surprise, and have changed the results of the day materially. But we must not anticipate. In the outset I reined back and rode with Squire Hardy, determined to play the magnanimous with Dick, and give him full opportunity to weary his fair companion with his commonplace talk. When we had ascended to the region of dangers and sublimities I would then join her. I consider myself strong on scenery and things of that sort. Whose fault it was I don't know, but I found the Squire dull and uninteresting. He seemed jaded and out of his element; and, in short, a man of his character, to be appreciated, must be seen at home. By the time we got to the dead timber I rode forward to join the daughter; but her acting SQUIRE HARDY. cavalier seemed in no way disposed to yield his place. If I pushed up on one side, he crowded in on the other, although the road was not wide enough for two abreast. I was seriously vexed, and significantly alluded to the young gentleman's climbing capacities. The envenomed arrow fell harmless. The wily rogue had told her the whole story, so colored and arranged that, instead of the monkey, he appeared as a hero. I was superseded and disarmed. "Dick," said I, "Mr. Hardy would like to have some conversation with you." "Cousin Robert," Dick replied, pleasantly, "I know the old gentleman would rather talk to you than any one in the world. I wouldn't deprive him of the pleasure." I would not have regarded this impertinence, but I observed that the young lady herself significantly gave preference to his attentions. Dick was called on to hold her glove and whip, while she retied the ribbons of her riding-hat. Dick must adjust her rein when it got tangled. Dick do this, and Dick do that. I opened once on the magnificence of the deep gorge which yawned on our right; but in the midst Dick was called to dismount and recover her veil, which had blown away. As I fell back, feeling deeply disgusted and revengeful, I heard Ellen warn her companion not to ride too near the edge of the precipice, lest he should tumble over, and 1 mentally estimated the total loss from such a catastrophe at one hundred dollars, the probable value of the hired quadruped. As we mounted the steep and rocky stairway near the summit the riding became somewhat exciting; but Virginians are familiar with horse-flesh and rough roads, and the White Mountain nags are too well trained to make the work dangerCrossing a stony plateau, and just before reaching the apex, we drew rein beside a rude monument and cross of stone, which, we were told, marked the spot where a young lady who had attempted to as ous. ASCENT OF MOUNT WASHINGTON. cend the mountain on foot fell from exhaustion and died. Dick feelingly remarked that it "was a pity she hadn't come up a horseback." "Poor child!" sighed the Squire, "to lose her life in so foolish and unprofitable an undertaking." "She was a brave girl," said Nelly, "and I admire her spirit, while I pity her fate." "If all heroism were to be estimated by our individual view of utility, the Pantheon of history would be stripped of its proudest ornaments, and its holiest shrines desecrated. What good has come of many a famous victory-the Thames Tunnel-the Atlantic Telegraph-the Great Eastern? What use are we to make of the North Pole, when discovered? and yet how many gallant hearts have perished in the vain pursuit, and how many more are burning to follow! Believe me, it is not to the wise and successful achievement of material and useful results that the world most heartily accords the crown of glory, but to the fiery soul that dares and perishes for an idea." Ellen rewarded me for these observations by an approving bow and graceful wave of the hand. I felt encouraged to say more, but the wind was blowing sharply, so we saluted the monument and rode on. The summit of Mount Washington is six thousand two hundred and sixty-five feet above the level of the sea, being the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi, except some peaks among the Black Mountains in North Carolina, which overtop it by six or seven hundred feet. The summit is entirely bare of vegetation, a vast stone heap, rugged and wild, but too regularly shaped for picturesqueness or sublimity. The two ragged-looking buildings put up for the convenience and entertainment of visitors are sufficiently characteristic to detract nothing from the scene. The view from the apex commands the full circle of the horizon, and Mount Washington appears as an island surrounded by a tumultuous ocean of blue hills. But the adja cent peaks, jagged and bare, divided by valleys of stupendous depth, are yet the most impressive features of the grand panorama. I enjoy these things when alone, and still more with a choice companion, whose sympathetic appreciation is expressed rather by the eye than the tongue. I knew there was such a one at hand if I could only have the good fortune to secure her companionship; so when I saw my gallant young friend Dick issue from the house with a lady on each arm, I accosted the group with the subtle design of relieving him of one of them. "Miss Ellen," said I, "let me have the pleasure of offering-" "Cousin Robert Berkeley," interrupted Dick, "let me introduce you to Miss Puffin-very anxious to know you-has traveled in Europepaints, writes, speaks French, and sings divinely." The young lady-who was at least forty, and weighed two hundred and forty-simpered, courtesied, and took my arm before I had recovered from the low bow which I made to conceal my disgust and indignation. I gave Dick a look which would have annihilated him if I had been a basilisk, and I wished for his sake I was one. He looked unconscious as a lamb, however, while his companion's eye twinkled with a suppressed merriment that made me half suspect her of being party to the outrage. "Your young friend tells me," observed my fair partner, "that you are a great lover of the beautiful arts; in fact, that you have superb talents." "My young friend, Miss, is an infernal-" (Oh! world of lies and hollow pretenses, must I swallow this?) "Ah! in fact, he is a devilish merry fellow, and talks extravagantly sometimes." "Ah, really, Sir, merit and modesty are inseparable companions. But you can not make me believe he has exaggerated yours." "I feel well assured at least, Miss Puffin, that he has not overestimated your accomplishments." |