------"Ye mountains,
So varied and so terrible in beauty;
Here in your rugged majesty of rocks
And toppling trees that twine their roots with stone
In perpendicular places, where the foot
Of man would tremble could he reach them--yes,
Ye look eternal!"
Cloud-capped, sky-crowned, mist-mantled, storm-defying Mount Washington!
O, there have been days, and weeks, and months and years, when life's
legion woes pressed heavily upon our souls and bowed our spirits in the
dust; when we dared not glance toward the past, or contemplate the
present, and turned with shuddering dread from the future of starless,
impenetrable gloom; and in those doleful years, through long, long
nights of sleepless pain and agony we have prayed, entreated, implored
grim death to come and ease us of the thorny pangs that tore our
bleeding hearts like venomed arrows. But now on reverent knee we thank
the God of nature, that he has let us live to stand upon thy
sky-piercing summit and look down on the world below! Wild Switzerland
of America! thrice proud are we to call thy granite mountains ours, for
beneath thy snow-capped summits our young existence dawned, and thy
shrill winds and stormy blasts rolled forth the sleeping anthems that
lulled our infant slumbers.
To this wild mountain region came Florence Howard, after luxuriating on
the picturesque Hudson, and dreaming herself in elysian realms among the
"thousand isles" of the queenly St. Lawrence. She was all life and
animation. The excitement of travel and vivid enjoyment of the beautiful
and sublime had banished every trace of the dejection and gloom which
had for many months obscured her brilliancy. Major Howard was delighted
with the improvement in his daughter's appearance, and seemed almost as
young and buoyant as she. Young Williams and his sister were their
constant companions in travel, and Florence found in Ellen a gentle
nature and affectionate heart.
A storm set in on the night of our party's arrival at the Crawford
House, and heavy clouds settled down over the brows of the great
mountains that hemmed in the narrow valley. The hotel was thronged with
visitors, and the new comers had to accept of such accommodations as two
small rooms in the upper story could afford.
"I declare," exclaimed Ellen, when the porters had brought in the
trunks, thrown back the fastenings, and retired, "after rackings, and
tossings, and tumblings enough to disjoint and unhinge a leviathan, to
what a comfortless haven are we arrived at last! O, for a tithe of the
luxury I rolled in at Niagara and Saratoga, or even one of the
state-rooms of the 'Hendrick Hudson' or 'Belle of the Waters!' They were
rooms of state indeed compared with these dismal little pens. How are we
going to turn round in them, Florence, much less unload our trunks of
their wardrobes and array ourselves for appearance in the parlors and
dining saloon?"
"Dear me!" answered Florence, as she stood before the window, blowing
her benumbed fingers, "I don't think we shall have any occasion to open
our trunks, for there is not a frock in mine I could venture to put on,
unless I was willing to be frozen to death within the hour."
"But what are we to do?" said Ellen, approaching the other window and
gazing forth on the dark, stormy evening, that was rapidly closing in
around them. Nothing could be seen beyond the small circle of the valley
in which the house stood, save dense clouds of fog and mist. The rain
poured like a second deluge, and terrific winds roared, and shrieked,
and bellowed like infuriate spirits of the rushing storm.
"What geese we have made of ourselves, Florence!" resumed Ellen, after
she had gazed in silence a few moments on the gloomy prospect presented
to her eyes; "jamming into crowded, uncomfortable coaches, and bruising
and battering our flesh and bones to jelly, all to reach this wonderful
abode of grandeur and sublimity. What 'Alps on Alps' we expected would
tower before our astonished visions! But here we are, sunk in a dismal
abyss on the extreme northern verge of civilization, and never a
mountain to be seen, or anything else save great lowering clouds that
threaten to fall and crush us yet deeper into the earth."
"If I could only get to see the mountains, I would not mind all the
discomfitures," said Florence, peering into the growing blackness
without.
"I tell you there are no mountains," said Ellen, growing impatient in
her disappointment.
"O, yes," returned Florence; "I think there must be a few somewhere in
the vicinity."
"Then why can't we see them?" demanded Ellen.
"They are hidden by the clouds, I suppose," said Florence. "I am told
Mount Washington is veiled in their fleecy mantles for weeks sometimes."
"No doubt it will be thus obscured during our visit," said Ellen, quite
petulantly.
A knock on the door here called their attention. Florence opened it, and
beheld her father, "Well, girls," said he, rubbing his hands, "what do
you think of the White Mountains?"
"When we have seen them we shall be better prepared to give an opinion,"
said Florence.
"For my part, I don't believe in them at all," said Ellen quickly.
Major Howard laughed heartily at this pertly announced conviction of the
non-existence of the wonderful summits they had come to behold, and said
he trusted, "when the storm was over, the elephants would show their
terrible heads."
"But are not you half frozen?" asked he, his teeth chattering as he
spoke; "pray come down in the parlors; you will find them warm and
filled with guests."
"We cannot go in our travelling garbs," said Ellen, "and there's no
opportunity here, as you see, to open our trunks."
"Never mind your dark dresses," returned he; "you will not find the
gossamer fabrics that deck the belles of Saratoga in fashion here. The
fair creatures, however much in defiance of their wishes, are obliged to
conceal their white arms and shoulders in thick warm coverings."
"We would be very glad to do so," said Florence; "but unfortunately our
wardrobes were prepared for a temperate, instead of a frigid zone."
"Well, you will do very well as you are to-night; there are a score of
ladies just arrived, all round the parlor fires, in their travel-stained
garbs; so come on," said he, "and don't be bashful. You will hear the
conversation of those who have passed half the summer in this region,
and perhaps Ellen may come to believe in old Mount Washington."
"I shall never believe in it till I have seen it with my own eyes,"
returned the fair girl, as she and Florence, under the escort of Major
Howard, descended the flights of stairs to the parlor.
As they entered, a hum of voices struck their ears from every side.
There was a group of ladies and gentlemen round the fire, and several of
them vacated their seats for the convenience of the new comers. A large
woman with a very red face remained in one corner and a young girl sat
by her side.
"Have you just arrived?" asked the former of Florence; who was nearest
her.
"Yes, madam," returned Florence, respectfully.
"Well, it is a dismal time for strangers to make their advent, though
the largest arrivals most always occur on such nights as this," said the
fleshy woman, who had rather a pleasant manner, and would have been very
good-looking, Florence thought, but for the rough redness of her
complexion.
"Are such storms frequent here?" inquired Ellen, in a dubious tone.
"Not very," answered the portly lady. "I have been here six weeks, and
have not witnessed so severe a one hitherto. I think myself rather
unfortunate to have been exposed to its severity all day."
Ellen and Florence looked surprised, and the lady continued: "Myself and
daughter joined a large party that ascended the mountains yesterday. We
had a tedious time. I lost my veil, and my face was frozen by exposure
to the biting blasts. The storm came on so furiously we were obliged to
send our horses back by the guides and remain all night."
"What!" exclaimed Ellen, "remain all night on the top of a mountain
exposed to a storm like this! Why did you not all perish?"
"O, we had shelter, and a good one!" returned the lady.
"Where was it? In caves of rocks, or on cold, wet turfs beneath reeking
branches of lofty pines?" asked Ellen.
"Not in caves," answered the lady, "and certainly not on grassy turfs,
or beneath trees of any variety; for old Mount Washington's bleak summit
cannot boast the one or the other."
"What can it boast, then?" inquired Ellen; "wolves and catamounts, that,
together with its shrieking winds, make night hideous?"
"Not wolves, or animals of any species," returned the lady, shaking her
head; "but of huge masses of granite boulders, gray and moss-grown,
heaped in gigantic piles, that eternally defy the blasts and storms of
the fiercest boreal winters."
"O, what a grand thing it must be to stand on its summit!" exclaimed
Florence, with glistening eyes.
"It is, indeed," said the lady, "though I have been pelted by the
merciless storm all day, which added fresh difficulties to the descent,
and still suffer much from my poor, frozen cheeks, I do not for a moment
regret my journey. I suppose you young ladies intend to ascend?"
"I do," said Ellen. "If there is anything here worth seeing, I wish to
see it, after all the fatigue and trouble of getting here."
"O, well," returned the lady, "I assure you there is enough to see. I
have been here, as I have already informed you, six weeks, and some new
wonder bursts upon me every day. You are a little disappointed from
having been so unfortunate as to arrive on this gloomy evening, when
even the nearest views are obscured by clouds. But the guides predict a
splendid day to-morrow. I am sure you will be delighted in the morning
when you rise and behold the great clouds rolling away their heavy
masses and revealing the broad, dark summits of the mountains that hem
in this grassy valley. I shall watch to see you dance into the breakfast
hall in buoyant spirits."
With a pleasant good-evening the lady retired. Florence and Ellen soon
followed. In the upper space they met Major Howard and young Williams,
who were hastening to join them in the parlor.
"Well, sis," said Edward, "Major Howard tells me you vote the White
Mountains all humbug."
"I think Ellen is growing less sceptical," said Florence, "since she has
conversed with a lady who has just descended from their summits."
"O, yes, Nell, there's a Mount Washington, sure as fate," returned
Edward, "and we must ascend its craggy steeps to-morrow; so retire, and
get a refreshing rest to be ready for the fatiguing excursion in the
morning."