A headland that used to be eagerly looked for by the passengers

222 The Hudson River

on the river boats, and was pointed out by every riverman, who viewed it with the pride of conscious proprietorship, No-Point satisfied the cultivated sense of the artist and impressed the untutored wayfarer with its perfection. It is safe to say that not even the Hudson River affords a more perfect combination of form and colour in landscape than this used to present. The traveller from other lands carried away, among his pleasantest impressions, the memory of its beautiful sweep of outline and the blending of lush summer foliage into the silver grey of weather-beaten rocks, or the rich chromatic harmony of its autumn dress. Now there is a dust-cloud hanging over a scene of increasing desolation. Acres of broken rock and bare soil scar the cliff and make it an offence to the eye. The selfishness of those who are robbing the State of one of its most charming and beatitiful possessions should arouse universal antagonism. The explanation of this vandalism can be given in one word, -- gravel. In one scale are beauty, sentiment, the delight of the eye, the restful, health-conserving qualities inherent in a harmonious landscape; in the other -- gravel. Gravel is a marketable commodity. Gravel pays. Gravel fills the pockets of the contractor, and must be secured for that purpose without regard to sentiment or local pride. The story of the Palisades over again? Yes, and worse; for while every one concedes the unic[ue character of the great monotonous rock wall -- " the