Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1872-08-01
miscellaneous. RI
Mount Desert.

Mount Desert.
/ Since early morning we hare beer
gliding swiftly over the quiet waters
which cnclrclc the thousands of island.
along the coast of Maine.
During the night. when sleeping. anc
while journeying from Portland t,
kockland. fog stole in upon us from
the ocean. We are again upon oul
way. and now the sharp prov Of ON
goodlv sized steamer seems to en-; il,
way into the gray wall Ahich appear.
to bc impencirablc. but which, how
ever quickly We NAV move along. i.
always before Us. hy our side, an,
closes up Immediately behind rs.
In the midst of thi, intense fog
when YOU can hardly recognize youl
best friend half the length of tn,
steamer, You would suppose the pilot
at the wheel would move with hrsita
tlon; but 1t IS no extravaganza OF
speech to say That hc knows every inch
OF the WAY. Very often the steamer
turns To the right and the left. with No
apparent obstruction in its path. but
never doe, it slacken speed. standing
at the bow ot the boat. the ear Of in.
experience even detects at times tn,
presence of land by the sound Of til,
humping padolc-whecl> returning III
sullcn echoes from the rocky cNH.,
whose wavc-washed base quickly ap.
pears 10 view. almost within reach OF
hand, ana as quickly yanish,-s from
sight behind u" gray veil OF fos.
The morning by this time has al
Nanced. and We are conscious that the
a!!-prevading atmosphere of gray has
become gradually. and by inpcrc.pt,.
bic degrees. of delicate crcaln.white.
IL J. an exquisite ethereal Substance,
the despair of the artist 10 paint, be.
yond description for while you are
gazing. for an instant a gentle breeze
ians Your check, and then. by one OF
natures magical transformations, in.
stantly the veil has vanished. and YOU
look upon wide expanse of land and
water. Right before us are beautiful
Islands covered with green fields
rocky promontorles rise up ont of tn,
blue water, while the foliage of tree.
breaks the dim line where meet the
water and the sky. To the northwest
and behind us the darker waters
stretch away TO the base of range OF
high hills, whose sides, nearly TO theiI
submits, are covered with orchard.
and fields, and, quite near each other
white farm-houses.
Astonished by the strange dlsap.
pearance of the morning fog. and de
lighted by the beautiful scenes which
met our gaze, l experienced a GOOD
deal OF romantic emotion, under whose
influence | exclaimed, What a won
drous change, How beautiful! Is il
not sublime :"
Prars; but its my opinion, and
I've been on land and water nigh goin
on ter thirty year. that the sun eat it
You see, cap'n, the wind drives these
pesky fogs away a little, but the suns
as hungry as a shark, and eats EN- W
in less than no time
More rapidly than was agreeable tc
sense of dignity | descended from
my imaginative height, and turned tc
observe the individual who had made
the above practical answer to nv en.
thuslastic apostrophe. He was man
OF about middle age. with an honest
kindly face. albeit about the ewes ther,
was malicious twinkle which gave
the key TO the humor of his remark
He was dressed in what are called
''store clothes, to which it was evident
he was not used. The immediate anG
| sensible answer to my remark rendered
me quite speechless for a moment, and
the sailor man continued. answering
the look of surprise and inquiry which
he saw in my face:
''Oh yes, Sir, I'm used TO these fog.
along this coast. | was born in one
of EN-, and as boy and man I've beer
IN and out of EN- all my life You'll
find fogs all the world over. but til,
Gulf Stream fog beats 'em all. 1t viii
heave in sight sooner. stay longer, and
become thicker, and 90 away quicker
than any fog l ever met in all IN,
voyaging."
Nv new-found acquaintance proved
to be an excellent guide in our morn
ing's ride, to say nothing OF his inter
esting stories of countries and people
he had seen in his many journeyings
and with my own experience in view
| agreed with him that there was moth
ing more beautiful than the scener,
through which we were passing. IL
/ the traveller whose life has been passed
in the midst of the redundant foliag,
of the great river valleys of the Wes
or the tropical vegetation of the Soutl
there is peculiar charm in thes,
islands springing from the waves
patched with low stunted pines. rock
ribbed. with the merest handful o
earth lodged here and there, ane
scarcely enough of herbage. one woulC
suppose, to fill the stomach of a goat
much less to furnish food of any kino
to the people who inhabt the houses
which surmount each cliff and hilltop
But the truth is, Western farmer o
relative positi0n wastes more in ,