Smyrna times., 1884-08-27

of pleasure over his enraptured nature,
but teven the best efforts of brush and pen
which we have ever seen leave us no
room to doubt that our attempts in
that direction would utterly fail to give
any adequate idea of the grandeur of
this mountain scenery.
Seated on the porch of the Mt. Pleas
ant House, Falyans, at six o'clock, on
one of the most perfect August morn
jngs that ever broke in loveliness into |
this charming basin among the White |
Mountains, my thoughts are away for
a season with the dear ones far away
and the longing comes as it so often
does to the tourist, oh that l had
such and such friends here with me to
revel in the beauty of this charming
scene. 1 confess that I have been
completely captured by the rugged
and varying scenery Of this mountain
range. | came to the White Hills
with the conviction that the thing was
greatly overdOne by correspondents
and that Starr Kings rhapsodies were
simply the dreamy visions of an ex-
cited and poetic nature that went off
into ecstacies over every babbling
brook and cloud-capped hill and that
matter-of-fact man like myself would
find the mountains very commonplace
if not stupid. Then had / not seen the
mountains Of West Virginia and the
Alleghanies and dwelt for years amid
the rugged Sharp and Blue Ridge, of
Pennsylvania Had not climbed to
the top of Mt. HolyOlle and enjoyed
that charming view of the Connecticut
Valley. Had l not driven through the
gaps and over the hills of Berkshire
and up the heights Of Weylocke-what
was there left of mountain scenery
/ that could astonish such an old noun
| taineer-but l surrender to the magi-
cal charm Of Mt Washington and the
Presidential range, and l will soon
leave this lovely spot mountain haun-
ted, with visions of loveliness lingering
in memory's halls, and songs that will
sing themselves to fancy's ears for
years to come.
How to write of the charms Of this
Switzerland of America, wot not. As
I sit on the piazza of the Mt. Pleasant
House, looking out to the East, Mt
Washington lifts its frozen peak above
the clouds, while to the left stand as 6
guard Of honor, Mts. Clay, Jefferson
Adams and Madison, while on the
right stand the loftier sentinels o
Monroe, Franklin and Mt. Pleasant
Further to the left and westward liz
Mt. Deception and Mt Dartmouth anC
and in indiscribable beauty, lesser
heights sinking down, down, one be
low and in front of another, until th'
scene breaks in a lovely valley at one'
feet, through which, as a thread of sill
yer winds the ever babbling, ripping
waters of the ImmOnoOsuc.
At six o'clock this morning the ray
of the sun began to sift through th'
clouds, resting upon the 6,20O feet o
uplift known as Mount Washington
directly to the East of us, having al
ready been shining an hour and tel
minutes upon dwellers on the Othe
side of the mountain. Now appeared
one of those rare and beautiful eXhibi
tions of play Of light to be seen only IL
the mountains and in the highe
ranges. The sun stole down through
the cloud riffs in great belts of light
like haloes of glory such as artist
would represent about the heads of tn
persons they painted most sacred
These broad rays slOping down tn
mountain side seemed to concentrat
and focalize upon one spot embracin
perhaps three acres of surface an
bringing out in detail all the rugge
beauties of that single spot as it lay &
gem of light amid the dark gree
n trees and foliage of the rest of tn
mountain side. As the clouds lifte
and hOated along the mountain this i
radiation moved slowly onward an
upward until nearly every object in i
path became as plainly visible ;
|, though only few rods away, althOug
four miles of valley intervened. I'll
= rising sun dispelled the clouds and v
had perfect view of the "Summ
House" and all that lay between
and that distant height. As Il
,. clouds lifted and drifted; changed al
rolled and faded, until they we
drawn up as a curtain, unveiling Il
entire mountain range to our enra
J, tured sight there dropt down long, tn
fringes Of curling, white, misty, sha
tered clouds, which hung in a thOusaI
Z points of light drapery along &
Dj mountain top until eventually thu
too were drawn into the HEAVIER
Still along the valleys between t
" mountains, and in the ravines
cloud banks in pearly beauty, un
they too were summoned from tht
-' hiding places and commanded to mar
on before the morning cOnqueror, W
in triumph advances, and reluctant
E. lingeringly they hoated up, up, a
40. along the face Of the mountains, un
,.of they were lost in the overhangi
glories which rested as canopy ON
this wonderful scene. l kept repe
ing very often during this hour Il
beautiful verse by Chas. Wesley:
ITO the hills lift mine eyes,
ana The everlasting hills;
on Streaming thence in fresh supplies
ans My soul the Spirit ieelsl
u win he not his help aiford2
Help while yet ask is given
God comes down the God and Lor'
Who made both earth and HEAVIER
for for And I wanted another Pc
4 BY Jubilee" choir of one thousand voi'
fN.a