The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1909-04-17
WRITTEN FOR 1.-THE UNION"
WATKINS GLEN BY MOONLIGHT.
BY GEORGE E. TACK.

To all lovers of the beautiful there
comes thrill of iuexpressable delight
as they enter the Glens of New York
State, particularly those Of Montour
Falls and Watkins, and gaze with
wonder at the marvellous works Of
nature there revealed. One will be-
hold with solemn thoughts vast col.
umns hewn by storms and waters.
towering walls, like arenas of old, and
verdant cliffs and cascades of rare
beauty. From the far-away gold
mines of the sun roll great streams of
dazzling yellow metal, which fall in
silence through the verdant roofs of
hemlock and form rare patterns of
beauty in the green carpets of earth
and the fern-covered walls.
Have you ever made the trip by
moonlight? It is worth all the exer-
tions you may put forth, and will
yield you pleasure and series of
views Of enchanting beauty. These
you may place on the walls of memo
ry's halls to remain there until time
for you shall be no more. Then come
with me tonight for a pleasant stroll.
From the station by Seneca's blue
waters we stroll up Franklin street,
bright with numerous lights and lively
with trade and the conversation and
shouts of the young and old. The
gardens are abloom and rare perfumes
greet our nostrils in this hour Of silent
dew-fall and sott-breathing winds.
Far above the silver-robed moon
quietly PAGES her upward way along
the azure pavements of the sky. "The
night has thousand eyes, and they
sparkle with seeming good nature
and JOY.
Now we enter the ampitheatre,
whose gigantic walls CLEAN and gloom
with shadows aud lights. The stream,
after its many plunges from heights
far up the Glen, now flows with musi-
cal leisure over bed of broken rocks,
touched by the caressing fingers of
the moon. Our ears next catch the
roaring sound of the waters of the en-
trance cascade, and as we ascend the
steps to the Sentry Bridge, we see the
descending silyery stream. T b e
moonbeams softly fall upon the ferns
and hemlocks that spring from the
hard breasts of the grim old walls and
descend deep into the Glen and silver
the surface of the dark pools with
radiant light. Aquiet whisper comes
from the forests along the Glen, and
the hum of insects mingles with the
sound of waters.
On silvery wings the moonbeams
and star rays futter down through
the silent halls of the sky and dart
through the fretwork of the trees
like birds of the sea. The cascades
laugh and CLEAN like visions of the
night, the beings that fit through
memory's corridor of dreams. Safely
the shadows move about and the silver
flood covers all with beauty trans
cendent. The echoes call to each
other in faint whispers and then cease.
Another climb and we are on our
way past Glen Alpha to a series of
pretty waterfalls. The waters OF
Minnehaha laugh and gleam in the
mellow light and flow down over the
rocks in merry mood. We pass on
and climb the steps to another height
to hear the deep music of the cavern
cascade. Here great shadows lurk
and the Glen seems alive with echoes.
Another flight of steps invites us
to ascend and we go slowly up to the
Bazaar. From here it is but a short
climb to the summit, where from the
observatory we get fine view of the
village and Seneca Lake. Innumera-
BILE lights, gold and purple, fash and
shine through the foliage of over
shadowing trees, and across the lake
the moonlight marks broad path oi
gold. Far off, along the distant
shore, lights gleam from villages, and
send their cheering rays to US across
the restless waters, whose depths en-
fold in their embrace many tragic
mysteries of the past. The shafts
and headstones in the silent city oi
the dead near by seem rigid fingers o.
time, that point US to the realm ol
! eternal light and bliss beyond the