Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-28

in the same way you air doin' on this ERE
very spot" said Mr. Van Wrinkle in good
natured patronage of our transports. He
sat quite at ease, elbows on knees, the palm
OF his left hand stroking upward and con-
veying bunch of gingerbread into his
mouth. It was sun-bleached on the upper
side, and he champed it as q horse champs
his hay
IT amt much of jedge O. seoh things,
myself Folks in these parts amt much
sot on views"
Heavens snd earth, my good fellowp'
broke out the innovator. Haven't you a
| pair of eyes Of your OWN"
''Ther' amt no manner o. doubt on that
| pint-an' q pair O. uncommon good ones,
you bet! Eff Gin'ral Washin ton was
standin' onto Fed raj Rock this minnit, I
could eenamost make out the eagle onto his
buttons My gran father, he use to tell to
his dyin' day, how he, bein' farm boy in
the ne1ghborhood, oncet followed the
Gin'ral an some O. his officers clear to the
top O. the rock an see him lookin' t'ward
Morristown through his spy-glass."
The Innovator pointed out the bald fore
head of the loftiest hill in the western
range as the point of observation chosen in
l778 by the Commander-in-C Chief OF the
stationed at Morristown.
.Isaa Stories of George Washington.
"He slept for several nights, en- route, in
a small yellow cottage opposite the gate Of
the Ryerson homestead. This cottage,
known as fWashington's Headquarters,
was torn down in the interests of progress. !"
Ignoring growl from the thick Of the
gingery beard, he pushed on: 'grhere was
camp on Rampo Lake in 1776-9. A sword,
perfect but for the surface rust, was dug out
of bed of charcoal, foot under ground,
some years ago. The coal was doubtless the
remains of camp fire. In the mountains
back of Federal Rock regiment of Ameri-
can troops in winter quarters, in the same
year, mutinied because they were not paid.
Their families were starving at home, and
the whisky rebellion in Pennsylvania
stirred them up. Washington sent force
to quell the revolt. The ringleaders were
shot and buried under the deep snow. The
| caves used as cellars during that bitter
winter and the graves Of the mutineers are
| still to be seen."
'I 'spose tn interests O. progress II be
| hot-foot after them, b'fore longP' The
growl was honest and audible. 'I shouldn' t
| be bit s'prisedto to see wire fence roun' tn
| campin' ground b. next year, an feller at
the gate to take yer 10 cents. An a peanut
| and root beer stand to boot. s longs money
kin be made, city folks don't stop to ask
whose bones they're makinriaIholy show Of. "
A Rarely Picturesque Cataract
Our last pull-up on the road was for a
view of the falls from above. A large rock
in the center Of the river is the foundation
of the dam which supplies water power for
the "works" A fall of 80 feet and the jut-
ting spine of the great bowlder have pro-
| duced cataract of rare beauty and piotur-
| esqueness.
"Not the Staubbach, nor Yosemite, nor yet
| Niagara" observed the back seat, impert1-
| nently. 'But fairish for Jersey country
neighborhood.
The west wind sifted the spray into Mr.
Van Wrinkles beard as he turned in his seat
| to reply, but without impairing the stern
dignity of his mien.
fTher' is them what hez seen Niagara, n
more'n oncet-what sez it can't hold candle
| to these" waving his hand impressively,
"With the exceptions, of course, O. bein'
quite some bigger, an on that account,
| maxim considerable more noise"
We are to spend the night in the brown
cottage with red roof, on the east side of
the lake. The pretty sheet of water Is three
miles long and less than mile wide where
| it is broadest, and winds capriciously among
hills and meadows until it is so narrow be-
| tween CHERRY Slope" and "Sunnybank'
that shouted query and answer could pass
| from one shore to other. Then it expands
in the shadow Of Hemlock Hill to gather
strength there
For the Spring Over the Rock
and dam. There are islands about which
water lilies cluster in the early morning
like foam-fringes, and swans that spoil the
| fshing-once excellent, even now tolerable
. odd 70 ha of he
Throguh the northern gorge, cut by the
Ramapo river, the wind blows fresh and
free all the summer day. It is never really
hot upon the peninsula on which the
first summer home in Pompton was erected,
twenty-odd years ago, as refuge from the
malaria and mosquitoes of meadow-g1rt
city. 1t was at first mere box, lakeside
lodge. The accretions of later days suggest
oysterlings clinging about the parant
bivalve. From mid-May to midi October,
the French windows and Dutch half doors
stand open all day long, and every cool
evening is seized upon as pretext for light
ing the logs always laid in readiness upon
the fre-dogs in the hall chimney. The
honeysuckles on the piazza are never out of
bloom, hammocks swing between the trees,
and hammock chairs offer choice Of indol-
ent attitudes.
After dinner, tea and coffee are served on
the piazza, facing the west, now passing
from glory to glory. The lake is incarnadine
it would seem to its depths-and in the
wood fanking the orchard, the thrushes
prolong their evening song.
Music of Natures Orchestra.
We listen, mutely, for awhile, 10 the
voices of the country night; the thrushes
leave off singing suddenly as a whip-poor-
will begins his querulous lament; the pur-
pie dusks of the June twilight float between
us and the thither shore, where lights CLEAN
out one by one in villa windows. The
honey-suckle grows sweeter, although there
is, as yet, so little dew that the young peo-
pie saunter, bare-headed, down to the sum-
mer house at the waters edge. One college
athlete has thrown himself at full length
upon the oval stretch of turf enclosed by the
carriage-drive and hedged about with rose
trees, not in richest bloom. His flannel
tennis suit shows broad shoulders and length
of limb to advantage, but, with muscles as
lax as those of the LATEST fellow of his class,
he lies on his back, his handsome head pill
lowed on his arms, looking up at the stars,
fire-fies holding their nightly ball among
the roses.
We think of crowded Chops and banks
of wall flowers whiting upon the back
benches of assembly rooms, Of the glare Of
electric lights and the blare of the eternal
brass band; of 8x10 rooms under attic roofs;
of Saratoga trunks bursting with fnery; of
toilettes per diem; of the clatter and smells
of hotel dining rooms, and the eyer-recur-
ring surprises conveyed in hotel bills-and
long sigh of thankfulness blends with the
whisper of the breeze in the honeysuckles.
Jov of the College Athletes.