The Washington herald., 1914-03-31
THE MOUNTAINS.
By ALEXANDER BLuME.

an Apollo in body, she is careful moi
to burden him with wisdom, and vice
versa. We see the loathsome reptile
and the swift-winging bird, the hideous
lizard and the gorgeous plummed cock
atoo, the harsh mouthed hyena and the
golden throated nightingale. At the
ends of the earth lie intensely frigid,
uniniabitable regions, but in the center
beautiful tropic belt, teeming with
living things and luxuriant vegetation.
So throughout the universe, wherever
Jagged mountain peaks rear their heads
into the skies, cold, cruel and menacing,
nearby lies valley, warm, fertile and
smiling.
/ stood near the summit OF a noun
tain one autumn. The day had been
clear and warm. The air in these
heights was pure and invigorating, the
finest tonic. 1t was late afternoon and
the crimson orb of day was declining.
Above, the skies were clear; below, a
thunderstorm was brewing. The air
was growing thick and sultry, sur
charged with ominous electricity. Far
off in the distance heavy black clouds
were gathering. Around the dark mass
played red CLEANS of lightning. and the
reverberations of distant thunderclaps
Jared the ear.
The scene was one OF indescribable
grandeur, a wild, reckless beauty Be-
fore me lay a chasm of dizzy depth,
sheer descent of thousands of feet of
rocky cliffs; around lay gorges and mon
strous canyons, inclosed by thick-fo-
liaged walls; above lowered rocky peaks,
their lofty, snow-capped heads merging
with the clouds.
II was as though the earth had been
broken and heaped up by some mighty
cataclysm, scene of confusion and
terror. but when one became accus-
toned TO the gigantic proportions OF
the picture, the art OF master painter
and sculptor was revealed. The SEEM
ing disorder slowly resolved itself into
spectacle of almost machine-like pre-
cision: one beheld the most wonderful
compensation existing in shades, tints
and colors, and most perfect balance
between the peaks and canyons.
Through wide riffs in the clouds be-
low. one could see smiling valley of
deep green farmlands, sectioned off by
numerous rushing streams. In the rays
OF the waning sun a spirit Of content
and happiness seemed TO hover over the
fertile fields and bright hamlets, from
which thin columns of smoke arose, |
gradually merging with the atmosphere
until they vanished into nothingness. In !
the fields were browsing kline and one |
could behold the herders rounding them
UP preparatory to driving them to shell |
ter for the evening.
But now the storm came on in all its |
fury. The sun was oOscured. darkness !
descended and the wind blew with cy-
clonic fury i'll fierce. sudden squalls.
Vivid beams of lightning darted to ,
and fro with the swiftness of thought 1
heavy slanting columns of rain de-
Scended and the artillery OF heaven
sounded its withering cannonade. The
majesty of the scene was appalling The
puniness OF man was made
forcibly apparent amid this great
.heatric display of Nature, as she mar
'haled her mighty forces in a supreme
effort to awe his proud spirit One was
crushed by this evidence of
her illimitable power. her terrible splcn-
Tor.
The storm soon spent its fury and
he dark clouds rolled away. The sun
dipped its fiery head below the far
lorizon and new moon arose in a
lear sky. shedding its soft, slivery rays
IN valley that seemed grecner and
more peaceful than ever. refreshed by
he cooling springs OF heaven. Once
more the air was pure and balmy and
llled the lungs with health and vigor
Once more Nature was at rest.
From time immemorial man has re-
eived wondrous inspirations from the
Amid the ethereal grandeur
md magnifcence of the heights his best
Qualities are brought to the surface The
arefed atmosphere seems to contain a
magic elixir that renders him spiritually
,reater.
The ancients placed the abode of their
yods on the top OF the mountains
Noses received the word of God on
Mount Sinai; Grecian mythology con-
eived the home of its manifold deities
S the summit of Mount Olympus The
indians looked up to Manitou, god of
he mountains and valleys; they heard
is voice in the rustling of the leaves,
n the rushing brooks and waving grass
hey feared his terrible anger in the
thunder, and beheld his be-