other, that little can be seen beyond a few rods, except the sky above, or glimpses of some distant summit, until the pleasant nook in the mountain is reached, wherein the Cabin of Kip Van Winkle is nestled. After that the course of the road is more nearly parallel with the river and the

WINKLi; S CABIN.

plain, and through frequent vistas glimpses may bo caught of the country below, that charm the eye, excite the fancy and the imagination, and make the heart throb quicker and stronger with pleasurable emotions.

Rip's cabin was a decent frame-house, as the Americans call dwellings made of wood, with two rooms, standing by the side of the road half-way

THE HUDSON.

from the plain to the Mountain House, a^'the head of the gorge, along whose margin the" traveller has ascended.-y^ It was so called because it stood within the " amphitheatre " reputed to be the place where the ghostly nine-pin players of Irving's charming story of E,ip Yan Winkle held their revel, and where thirsty Rip lay down to his long repose by "that wicked flagon," watched by his faithful dog "Wolf, and undisturbed, by the tongue of Dame Van "Winkle. As one stands upon the rustic bridge, in front of the cabin, and looks down the dark glen, up to the impending cliff's, or around in that rugged amphitheatre, the scene comes up vividly in memory, and the "company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins" reappear. "Some wore short doublets, others jerkins, with long knives in their belts, and most of them had enormous breeches, of similar style with that of the guides. Their visages, too, were peculiar : one had a large head, broad face, and small piggish eyes ; the face of another seemed to consist entirely of a nose, and was surmounted by a white sugar-loaf hat, set off" with a little red cock's tail.