National Republican., 1884-09-13

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N. Y, Sept. 0.-It would be impossible to |
imagine any combination of rocks, woods,
and water that is not accessible from this
point. You start for somo particular
cascade, and on your way you pass q dozen
others just as pretty, not TO speak of
innumerablo great gray rocks, half
covered with gray lichens and moist
green moss, over which cold little springs
are trickllng. Very near hero are the
Kaaterskill falls, where one sees q smooth
stone covered with an inscription COM
inemorating "Vite, the Bayard Of dogs
cans pcur ct sans reproche." The story is
that tho dog was trained to jump for what
his master tossed, and, seeing him stretch
out his arms as ho pointed to the view,
mistook 1t for his accustomed signal, and
jumped down the sheer descent OF $50
feet aud was dashed to pieces on the rocks
below. This happened in 1868, and since
then no ono knows how many thousand
visitors have spelt out on the rock tho
worn memorial of dogs fidelity.
Whichever way we drive or walk we
sec the big Kaaterskill, as tho natives
pronounce it, on tho summit of its
mountain looming over us as prodomi-
nant as tho Washington monument is
at home. Even by night we do not lose
sight of it, for then tho big electric
light CLEANS out, and can be seen far
and uear. 1t looks very near, but when
you start to make the ascent, either on
GnAN 80, ID. la. 90
Instead of growing nearer. You climb,
and climb, aud climb, and whom you get
TO the top and see the great hotel like a
little town you can but wonder how they
ever got the things up there to build it.
Like all the other houses in this region,
big and little, it IS white, with green
blinds. but around it are such miles OF
wide piazzas with such n wilderness of
easy chairs, and within IL such luxury of
electric lights, Of soft carpets, rich hang
ings. and beautiful paintings and engrav-
ings that You can hardly believe you are
in q mountain hotel. To be sure there
is the view, but where there is SO much
else to see you are rather apt to neglect
the view.
You buy from tho news stand the
pdtskiU Mountain Breeze, and see that Mrs.
y. Smith il at one house and Mr.. Isaac
Guggenheimer and family at another,
and you are much disappointed among
all tho 91i guests to see only two pretty
gowns. Indeed, so simple and in many
cases so dowdy are the costumes that you
might think you were at Haines Corners
were it not for the diamond earrings, but
they scintillate dazzlingly in every di-
rection. We are also struck by the i'm
mense variety of Thompson waves that
nre displayed, for these damp mountain
II -ta - h. N... ,Ina g.t
Neaera's hair" rather wispy. There are
some advantages after all about the
Haincs Corners, for down there if your
hair doesn't stay curled you can brush it
straight and don't feel called upon to
conceal it beneath q Thompson wave"
or a ''shingle bang" or any of those con-
trivances which are guaranteed to look
perfectly natural, and which would never
deceive blind man for moment.
We sit in the parlor and listen to the
lovely orchestra, and would almost regret
leaving it were it not for tho reflection
that we have q cabinet organ to go back
to. 1t is fine instrument, tho cabinet
organ, and especially pleasant in a house
where there are enough children to re-
1eve each other, SO that one Of them may
always be trampling upon it and making
it moo" plaintively. Our host, who goes
in the neighborhood by the sobriquet OF
christian Charley" has conscienti tious
scruples about having in his house piano
which he calls - child of the devil" The
main objection to it is that it is tempta-
tion to dance, and dancing he considers
one of the last steps on that easy descent
to Avernus, which he rightly considers
would be by no means easy if attempted
by q cabinet organ. He has terrible tale
of a young doctor who one summer at
say, ,,,ta al hDn OH i'm
his soul so deeply in crime as to engage
a fiddler. The could be but one end tC
the career Of this bold, bad man. He left
without paying his bill, and finally met a
tragic fate in "doOei in Cuby"--a direct
result of not being satisfied with the cab
inet organ.
Last week we had a concert from the
Washington Harmonic company, a set o
colored musicians from Washington, who
sang very well, but whose attempts to
render Lightly We Skim O'er the Ocean
Wave" or words to that effect, to the
cabinet organ were rather funny. One
of the gentlemen recognized in the bassC
the driver of the BLACK Maria" which
was considered very damaging admis-
zion. The basso was tremendously tai
and excessively black, and when he CAV,
Il laughing solo, with immense dramati,
effect, showing all his white teeth. ant
swaying his long body back aud forth il
what appeared to be perfect paroxysn
of mirth, the entire audience, largely
composed of natives, rose up and whOopec
with delight. am afraid the New Met
ropolican African Methodist Episcopa
church of Washington" Will not be finan
cially much benefited by the performance
though as the audience, though large
seemed to bo limited pecuniarily to 10
nj nf t,h a. AL. I.
number to pay the board of seven people
even at the most modest of the Catskil
resorts, and we have seen tho musica
director and the soprano drive by severa
times in linen busters and buggy, and W,
know by sad experience what an eXpen
sive amusement that is.
Although the old Mountain house tsel
is quite thrown into the shade by TIN
splendOrs of the much-advertised Kaat
erskill, there is nothing finer in tn
mountains than the view from there
Nine days out of ten you look down int
a sea ofsilver mist, but on the tenth yol
see-well hyperbole being the figure o
speech with which am least conversant
L will simply say the whole Unite(
States, instead of throwing in Europe
Asia, and Africa, as | am tempted to do
You look down as from balloon and Sc
the Hudson river winding in and out til
it becomes a silver thread in the distance
You SEQ fields, and whole farms for. augh
/ know, that look like squares on
checker board; little white towns aut
villages scattered around indiscrlmin
ately, and trees that look like the littl
chunky ones in the toy villages we use,
TO play with when wo were children. An
over it all sweeps tho clean mountain
wind that seems 10 have blown owe
nothing but rocks and moss and clea
splashing little streams and spicy pin
woods.
Then you drive down tho winding
shady road through perfect blaze q