Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1910-04-08

scends perpendicularly $50 or 200 feet
To go within two or three yards of the
edge and look down will make a person
feel peculiar. | scarcely dared send
over a stone lest | should fall off with
it. Everything below US seemed nearly
level. | noticed one thing which APP
peared very singular The land seemed
to ascend the farther distant it was or
in other words, we stood at the bottom
of a vast concavity and it seemed as if
Lake Champlain would Immediately
flow down to the foot of the mountain
if its banks were broken; this was prob
ably owing to refractiun of the air or
to some other cause which could be ex-
planned on philosophic principles. Be-
low the precipice on the south side of
the mountain is vast forest that ex-
tends number of miles to the east,
south and west; forest that has never
felt the axe and still stands in the same
gloomy silence in which it has remained
since the Creation. | stood on a point
of rock above the precipice when the
setting sun was sending the shadow of
the mountain far to the eastward and
touching with an almost unearthly hue
the sombre forests below me and the
SUBMITS of the neighboring mountains.
A cold mist was flying by me which was
lit up by the rays of the sun into all the
hues of the rainbow and seemed to real
ize the beautiful description by Byron
of the Spirits Home
My mansion in the clouds
Which the breath of twilight builds
And the summer sunset gilds
With the azure and vermillion
Which is mixed for my pavilion.
AS | stood and looked down upon the
forests below, felt a species of awe
which | never before felt. 1t required
but small stretch of Imagination to
fancy the forest below was some vast
assemblage of people. In fact, per-
son could imagine what he pleased in
such a situation. | delivered a couple
of declarations without drawing any
particular marks of appreciation from
my audience with the exception of a
couple of large ravens which had es-
tablished themselves in large dead
tree below me and croaked in manner
which might have been mistaken for
Encore! Encorel but | am not vain.
John Hooker, my brother and myself
stayed on the top of the mountain all
night. We kindled a large fire and
spent the night in talking, looking at
the stars and trying to sleep. All be-
low US was in deep shade and to look
down the sides of the mountain seemed
like looking into vast cavern, but the
stars shown with uncommon briliancy.
We were above the msts and smoke of
the lower world, and they seemed much
more bright than they do even in a
cold winter night. The prospect little
before sunrise was grand. Below US
on the east for so miles in extent it
was one level sea of fog of the purest
white, checkered here and there by the
top of some blue mountain that rose
above it and looked like an island as
beautiful as even the far famed and
poetic Atalantis. In short time, the
sun rose far off over the mountains of
New Hampshire, and when its level
beams fell on the mist it assumed all
the splendid coloring of the evening
clouds. 1t was sight that richly re-
paid US for all our toll. About an hour
after sunrise, we took a line of march
for home Duxbury) which we reached
little after noon. Saturday we came
as far as Lincoln, and Sunday we went
to Bristol, attended meeting and in the
afternoon walked home. If my uncle
will let me, | shall go to the White
IL