The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1852-09-02
14:3

ever again 10 see 30 much earthly glory ~ broke
upon us when the last rays of the sun rested
for n moment on Lake and Mountain. We
moved in the centre Of vast amphitheatre.
All around us mountains were rising beyond
mountains On the north lowered the Fran
CONAN range with Mount Lafayette pre-emi-
nent and on the northeast from a sea of mount
ain tops rose. grandly above them all Mount
Washington, which. though at a distance of
sixty-eght miles. shone distinctly in the golden
sunset which bathed the nearer mountains in
the richest purple shading downwards to the
deepest blue Ii must have been at such a
moment, that some Indian, all glowing with
the soul of poetry. styled this lake aWinn-
piseogee' or, the smile Of the Great Spirit"
But we shall not bore you with description
Go to the White Mountains If you would see
sights to live in your imagination forever
Take the cars at Boston. at eight O'Clock i'm
the morning by the Boston, Lowell. Concord,
and Montreal Railroad Tell the conductor
TO put you out at Weir's Landing on the Lake
which you reach in about four hours Captain
Walker, Of the Lady of the Lake, will take
you across ten miles, to Centre HarbOr, whence
after good dinner, you start with him again
and are carried along the Lake twenty miles
to Wolf borough where you stop for the night
or as long as you please, at the spacious hand
somely provided Pavilion. Here, if you have
no objection to being packed as freight you
may take stage for the Mountains otherwise
charter stage for your party, or hire a car
riage for your family to make the whole tour
The first day by an easy ride, you reach the
Conway House, thirty three miles Be sure to
start before the stages and keep ahead of
them, so as to secure good rooms Mt the stop
ping places. The next day, you begin gradu-
ally the ascent of the mountains and after
thirty miles most delightful driving in which
YOU are kept looking up, and looking down
and looking around, at rock, precipice, and
mountain-torrent, and now and then green little
valleys peepng at you away from below, you
come in sight of the famous Wiley House,
whose inmates, startled at midnight from sleep
by the thunder of an avalanche, rushed for
safety into the open air and were instantly
buried under the huge mass of rocks and
stones, while their house stood untouched, the
" slide having been split in two by a vast rock
standing between the dwelling and mountain
This took place in 1926. A new building
has been put up since, adjoining the old,
which is now shown to travellers Just as it ap-
peared after that fatal midnight We walked
through it, looking into its bar its sleeping
rooms its kitchen it's chambers deserted and
dcsolate, until we began to realize the horrors
| of mountain slide We do not see any
reason why there should not be another ava
| lanche Of the same sort The pass between
the mountains is n narrow one; their SUBMITS
are steep, some oyerhangng; and the torn sides
| show signs OF continual slides on a smaller
| scale The ascent from the Wiley House is
| through n narrow pass, called Crawford s
Notch, and here everything about you assumes
an aspect of terrible grandeur-dizzy mount
aims, with ragged blasted sides, startling preci-
pieces, horrible chasnis immense rocks tumbled
upon each other, as if here had been the battle
| field of Millions angels But through this one
pass, smooth and regular, as if hewn out by
| Art you ascend easily to the summit-level of
| the mountainous region, and thrty-six miles
| from Conway, put up at Fabyan's Hotel,
seated in the centre of fine farm, and in full
view of Mount Washington, from whose sub
lime summit you look down upon . world at
your feet
| Mr.. Fabyan is one of the most enterprising
of landlords He owns both this hotel and
the spacious Conway House, and they are large
enough to accommodate hundreds. But large
as they are, so great has become the travel
within three or four years, there is demand
| for more room. We have seen travellers at
these mountain passes, sleeping on mattresses
laid down in parlors reception rooms, and
halls, to say nothing of the bowling saloons
| At Fabyan you find pure, dry, exhlaratng
atmosphere, plenty of horses and carriages
fine mountain rides and drives, and you viii
be apt to stay there as long as you can.
From Fabyan's you have another delightful
drive TO Bethlehem, charming little place ii
the mountains, and thence to the Lafayette
House, where you can get a first-rate dinner
This is in the Franconian Notch and just be
fore you come to it, stop at the Echo Lake, by
the road side beautiful collection of water
closely enclosed on every side, by almost per
pendicular mountains, no arranged as TO give
out double echo Shout what you will, and
the Old Man of the Mountain for we suppose
it is he,) repeats you with the distinctness OF
your own utterancc.
Mount Cannon rises right up, two thousand
feet from the Lafayette House, and rs you pass
down the road about one or two hundred yards
you see for the first time the Old Man of the
| Mountain. His profile stands out from ut-
| ting rock on Mount Cannon, with powerful
| dstinctness 1t is as plain as the nose on your
| face, and good deal palmer for its face is
eighty feet from the chin to the top Of the fore
head, and chin and nose are in admirable pro-
portion. Putting this face and that echo to-
gether, no wonder the Indians should deem
this mountain the dwelling place of Manitou
After dinner, you have an exbiarating ride
on smooth mountain rode to the Flume
House where il yon are so fortunate as to find
lodging, you will like to put up several days
Here there is bride path to the summit of
Mount Lafayette, and another sight called tho
Flume-perhaps the most wonderful thing in
the mountain We shall attempt no descrip-
ton all we have to say liz, go and see.
The Flume House is quite considerable af-
fair, with fine table, and parlor as large as
a c0ncert-room, which, the evening we were
there, was adorned with any number of fash
onable people, in full dress, from Boston we
presume) stuck up all around the walls like
frames in picture gallery,
Twenty-four miles more on your descent, by
n road which runs along the lovely valley of
the Pemigewasset second only in beauty to
the Connecticut valley and you rest from your
abors ut the Pemigewasset House, in this
most pleasant Plymouth where began indict-
ing this epistle house blessed with such a
landlord AZ one reads Of in books sometimes
but seldom meets with as an actual presence
a Godsend 10 the weary traveller.
1t was in Plymouth Daniel Webster made
his first speech 10 a jury on the very spot
where our friend, the Millerte preacher, is now
holding forth with length Of argument that
would do no discredit TO United States Sena-
tor but the old Court house consecrated by
this maiden speech has been rolled away to
the skirts of the town, and is now quite re-
spectacle paint-shop.
The mountain roads are excelent-better
far than most stage roads ON level ground The
mountain houses are good--tbc mountain air
is exhilarating-thc mountain sights and
sounds are glorious. Our New England read
ers need not be told all this; but our Western
and Southern friends know nothing about it,
After exhausting the Watering Places, Just let