The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-08-13
NlAoARA,s FASCINATION.
An IndrscribabIe Attraction Well MI
Irresistible to the Spectator.

An IndescrIbabIe Attraction Wei Nigh
Irresistible to the Spectator.
Not every visitor to Niagara falls has for
his benefit full moon every night and
brilliant sun by day They tell me that the
grand time to see Niagara is at midwinter,
when huge tons Of ice 20 laundering over
the cataract and the lower falls are one
mass Of sparkling icicles. But one cannot
see everything, and Niagara in summer
time is quite good enough for me. Arriv-
ing in the middle of the night, with the
moon at the full, it was impossible even
then to resist the fascination of Niagara's
deep diapason sound of welcome.
We wandered out, the night as light as
day, under acres of white blossoms, to see
the upper torrent before it falls over the
precipice This was to be all. The rest
was to be left to the imagination. You
cannot conceive the effect of that midnight
rambe--the eternal thud of the cataract
emphasizing the delicious silence of the
night Standing as | did on the edge of the
green garden ON the American side, looking
over to the deep and somber belt of pines
on the opposite island watching and eter-
nally watching these angry waters dashed
into foam and hurrying to their downfall
below, it did not seem to me at first that
this comparatively narrow course could end
in triumph of magnificence
But there was no vestige or shadow Of
disappointment in the morning. How
should there be2 The apple blossoms were
waxen, the grass of emerald green, the sky
was blue, the sun was in the heavens At
last it was all right with the world So
took the picture gradually, piece by piece,
like n miser. lifted the curtain gradually
/ 81, al
| point and bit by bit. The plan was to walk
| by the side OF the torrent and to pause at
every resting place-iirst, the very edge
where the water breaks from its narrow
bed into immeasurable distance and be.
| comes mighty cataract; next n little
| lower down, where can be seen Q g effect of
| the great fall. the majesty of wuich seems
| incompatible; then little further down,
! where you find that the first falls are mere
| child's play compared to the misty ma jesty
of the Horseshoe falls. The proportions OF
this Understandable picture are so equal and
admirable that at first, as at st. Peters in
| Rome, you are apt to be a little disap
pointed. You cannot be convinced of the
magnifcence of St. Peters unless you &c
to the top of the highest dome. You can.
not be completely persuaded of the aston.
ishing majesty of Niagara unless you de
scend to the very bottom
Modern enterprise allows you this expert
ence. Formerly you had to stand on slip
perry rock in macintosh and go literally
under the falls Nowadays plucky little
steamboat plunges into the very heart oil
the torrent and takes you so near the fall
ing mass of glittering and rainbow tinted
water that you gasp for breath. This ex
petition should he missed by no one You
cannot see the falls or understand then
| without it,
You will ask me, what is the effect Of
Niagara falls on the spectator? To me they
have an indescribable attraction aud fas
cination. While resting there l could moi
get away from them. The roar in the dis
lance seemed a call which was bound t.
answer. All day long L was strolling abDu
Goat island or standing on the bridge, oi
over on the Canadian side sitting and look
ing at the rainbow and the waves of tn,
opposite fall. Try as | would, could mo-
tear myself away from the attractive cata
ract. The most hideously fascinating cor
ner of all is the exact break where the rush
ing water falls sheer down the precipice
One-half step here and death would gree
you in less than a second. This in "a corne
that ought to be barred from the sight
it is necessary to heighten the barriers o
Clifton suspense ion bridge, it should b.
doubly right to hide these fascinating cor
ners of Niagara, where the roar soothes ant
the rushing water allures. But for all that
hither suicides eternally come. Niagara ha
been the nepenthe of many weary soul
If were to visit the place Il hundred times
| should still be found all day long walking
round and round the falls and rapids, an,
watching the everlasting rush from peac
of lake to turbulence of whirlpool NJ
agara is to nay mind one of the most fasc
mating spots on earth.-London Telegraph