The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-03-26
CALIFORNIAN CANAL.
a Ride Among Picturesque Islands and
AWe-InSpIrIng MountaiI..

Z
At last. As day began to Nane, We
passed through Loeb Aber and the
: Corran narrows into Loeb Linnhe.
And here the mighty spirit OF the lakes
and mountains took possession of us
all and held that boatlnad of merry
people silent and spel.-bound 1t was
as il We were being borne onward,
swiftly and nOiselessly. into the inmOst
holy of HOLES. Even the captain and
! the very deckhands stood like men en-
tranced. overwhelmed by the surpass-
ing splendOr ANY thing 81 grand, so
weird, 50 magical, can hardly be i'm
agined, much less described. The rain
of two hour before had left the air
heavy with vapOr, through which the
sun now >hone gloriOusly, producing
the most marvellous effects. You
might make this trip hundred times.
ladies. said the captain. - he stood
uncovered, land not get the half OF
what you are getting tO-day--no, nor
the tenth of it," / quote this lest
some of our dear wandering kinsfolk
who have been down the Caledonian
canal on some dull, gray day, when
The Scotch mists hemmed them in on
all sides, and they could scarcely see
beyond the decks, should cry out:
'.How that woman eXaggerates.r But
we have all seen Transformation scenes
on the stage where the effect of light
and color, OF rapidly dissOlying views
and OF seemingly supernatural revcla-
tiOns filled us with w0rdless awe. Now
make the stage one vast panorama of
shining, sparkling water, as still as a
sheet of silver. Dot the surface with
islandA dark masses OF verGure rising
out of the depths. and often pictures
quely beautiful with ivy-grown mold
ering towers, broken arches, and here
and there stately monument. Let
the nearer hills. slOping from the
shores, be cultivated and clothed with
living green more than halfway
up; make them gentle and
homelike by building stately mansions
on the broad terraces and letting small
gray cottages. like birds nests. perch
on the slightly cliffs; then, stretching
far above these human habitations, let
the purple of the wild heather, blend
ing with the soft olives of ferns and
MOSES, climb to their very tops. Be-
yond them. tier on tier, not in regular
ranges. but iutting out edgewise and
crosswise and allwise, let the mightier
hills stretch upward and onward, ap-
pearing and disappearing; now LOOM
ing up out Of the vapOr in cold, blue
splendor, then suddenly vanishing like
pallid ghosts; changing every mo-
ment; presenting constantly new Wis
tas, new cloud marvels and new OPEN
ings into far radiant reaches. through
which you seem to see Heaven itself.
Throw over all this light walls of mist,
that soften rather than obscure-pale,
gray, dazzling silver, soft rose. trans
lucent amber. purple amethyst-va walls
that float and lift and waver with |
every breath and with every motion of
the boat, and you will have some faint |
aoSo Va Jul hu-
gust evening as we crossed Loeb |
Linnhe and passed into Loeb Leven,
pausing for few moments at Balla- |
and then, turning into Linnhe |
again. swept on our downward way to- |
ward Oban. But you must do still |
more. You must imagine all this
of cloVl and mountain |
and island so perfectly mirrored in the |
clear, still waters of the lake that even |
the changing splendor of color was du-
plicated, and Heaven was below as well |
IS above us. 1t grew dark and chill |
1t last. The overpowering glory died
and earth was earth once more, but |
.he effect remained. Young men and
old men and children, were
content to sit in silence, or to speak in |
'ubdued Whispers. as we watched for
he first CLEAN of the semi-circular cor
Ion OF lights that guard the bay of
Monthly.