The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-07-17


Kept all hands in good humor.
THE BEGINNING OF SORROWS.
On reaching the Halfrsy House we pissp psrts'
content. little above there is sharp turning 10
the left. The elbow was round an almost pare
rock, while on our right hand precipice OF great
depth revealed itself-a fall down which would
have settled Us as efiectually tumble from the
seventh heaven. Here the wind struck ms with
full force, for there was nothing to protect US
from itsfury. Some Of the passengers had offered
to aIicht and walk up the steep incline, but the
driver requested them to remain seated, as their
weight was required to resist the force OF the
blast. On being questioned, the driver said that
through the violence Of the wind, which rendered
travelling dangerous.
PHENOMENON EXPLAINED
At thia point problem that puzzled severai of
the visitors at the Glen House, on the previous
day, was solved-namely the white appearance.
notified. with dark patches, Of that part Of the
mountain h we were now w passing AS seen from
filed with snow. or course il was known that
l. it was not snow. Onr party ascertaned that
great deal of the Wilderness was caused by stunted
pines, that had withered and become bieached in
The inclement weather of those alpine regions
In fact, nothing can exceed the barren and DESC
late look OF that portion of our route. To add to
the grimness which characterized the scene, an
extensive confederation recently ragged among the
pines. just on the verge Of this mountain desert;
and their blackened and charred trunks, some Of
which are lying PROSTATE, bear testimony to the
THE GLEN HOUSE VIEWED FROM ABOVE
But, cast your eye dOwnwards, and how changed
the scene. Far below il seen the Glen House we
have SO recently .eit now looking little larger than
child's baby house. The mountains in which it
L. hemmed are reduced to ordinary hills, at the
altitude we have attained, while the gentler undn-
iatons OF the glen itself appear like O carpet Of
green sward. One of our party wonders whether
a fifteen inch shot could reach the hotel from the
spot where we then were. eyes," replied an
other 'once get the range, and the roof could be
penetrated by every shot" He was right; much
smaller shot could be thrown with accuracy into
the building.
MAGNIFICENT NATURAL PANoRAMA.
Round and round we encircled the barren noun
wind more boister0us and the cold more intense
the higher assembled The fog had now cleared
away, and the sun shone out brightly, compensat-
ing for our physical dscomiorts, by presenting to
enchanting scenery ever beheld by mortal eyes,
Far down in the plains of New Hampshire were TO
be seen the green fields, comfortable farms and
homesteads and picturesque villages had passed
a few days before besides immense number
OF others that l had no chance of seeing. In
the dim distance portion Of Lake Winnepesau-
kee was plainly visible, and we could recog.
nize the village of Conway. Ascending Still
higher. we began to Overtop the lofty mountains
tn It we had a short time previously been looking
up to, and to see over and beyond them. As
advanced the glorious scenery constantly changed,
shutting in such we had already feasted our
eyes upon, and opening up others equally charm
ing, thus enabling to enjoy moving natural
panorama, more beautiful than any ever painted
on canvas and exhibited to admiring crowds.
And our little crowd was an admiring, nay, an en-
tlIusastic one; frequent were the ordinations of
"How beautiful" "charming," delightful"
"grand" that fell from the lips of my appreciative
fellow travellers.
A SUDDEN CHANGE. ~
In the meantime Phnbus was pretty liberal in
pursuing us with the brightness Of his countenance,
when, all at once, he disappeared, handing us
to the tender mercies of the fog which he had
chased away short time back. AS if by magic,
we were enveloped in fog SO thick that we could
not see dozen yards before the leaders heads,
and this lasted till we had reached the summit.
All the rest Of the way up we had fog above, fog
below, fog to the right, fog to the left, fog all
around us--an idea stolen from Tennyson and i'm
proved on. As the fog increased in density the
wind became still more boisterous and the cold
more intense. Talk of "blowing great guns;'
why, it blew whole park of swamp angels. The
warning, whisting, bowling and shrieking of the
gale seemed as if the prince of the power of the
air had let loose his demons to hurl us over some
precipice to our destruction. Sometimes we had
1t our starboard side; then, turned round
some sharp curve. We wohd catch it to port. Hats
had to be dashed on our heads with handkerchiefs,
gipsy fashion, to prevent them from blowing of.
Then. so severe was the cold, that toes and finger
ends became numb and ears began to Jingle and
all these dscomforts were increasing with every
foot we mounted higher.
THE'ARRIvAL.
At length, blessed news, the driver informed US
that we had travelled seven miles, and that conse-
quently only one mile remained for us to reach the
summit. This tended to raise spirits consid-
erably, particularly az we now arrived at q level
piece of road; over which We enjoyed good tret,
though this was counteracted by the wind having
full sweep across our path. Presently dark Oh
ject was seen looming up. through the fog, right
ahead. 1t proved to be the stables OF the summit,
into which we drove. short walk up q steep
and rocky path took us up to the Tip Top House
the highest point of land in the whole range-the
Summit House, which is contiguous, being a few
feet lower.
Glad was to find myself in an unpretending but
comfortable apartment, about thirtyfve by
| twenty-four heated by two stoves and filled with
| visitors, male and female many Of whom-that 10
the men-were imbbing hotgin sings, an example
| your correspondent was not slow to follow. Had
| Father Matthew himself arrived in such state of
frgidity as myself and failed to indulge, he would
merit the appellation Of either saint Q simple
ton, for it was freezng-aye freezing in the middle
of July; for large Jumps Of ice were falling from
| the roof OF the Tip Top House, and clustering on
the rocks below, while the mercury OF thermom-
| were encrusted with ice, marked thirty-two de-
STURDY PEDESTRIANS.
The company assembled in the sitting room was
| Q motley one All ages. ands perhaps all callings
and conditions OF life, there represented. All
we're cheerful, and talking with what old Sam
| johnson called ian ostentatious display Of col
| loquial volubility' about their journey up the
| mountain. Several Of them were from Crawford,
| on the other side Of the mountain, and had made
| the toilsome journey on horseback During our
stay there were constant arrivals from aud depar-
| lures TO the Glen House. Four gentlemen who had
| walked from the Glen House attracted particular
| attention. They performed the journey in pre-
| cisely the same time that we dd-three and half
| hours, including half an hour for dinner at the
| Halfway House. One of them informed me, on
| my return, that he had made the descent still on
foot, in one hour and twenty minutes, beating us
| by two minutes. Pretty tall travelling this.
| DIsAPPOrNThENTs.
Having partaksn Of q subst initial dinner Of beef
steak, ham and eggs, and the irrepressible pie, we
awaited the clearing of Of the fog to have view
| all round from our commanding eminence; but IL
| seemed that we were likely to wait in vain. Mean
| while lively remarks were being made, expressive
particularly warm shawl; and yet it is morally
| certain that most Of the fair interlocutors had
| large trunks full Of useless frippery, much Of