There, too, the ]-oad is level, and the traveller rejoices in the assurance that the toilsome journey is at an cu<l ; when, suddenly, he finds himself, like the young pilgrim in Cole's " Yoyagc of Life," disappointed in his

MOUNTAIN HOUSE, FBOM THE KOAD,

course. The road that seemed to be leading directly to that beautiful mansion, upon the crag just above him, turns away, like the stream that appeared to be taking the ambitious young voyager directly to the shadowy temple of Fame in the clouds ; and many a weary step must be taken, over a crooked, hilly road, before the traveller can reach the object of his journey.

The grand rock-platform, upon which the Mountain House stands, is reached at last ; and then comes the full recompense for all weariness. Bathed -- immersed -- in pure mountain air, almost three thousand

THE HUDSON. 157

feet above tide-water, full, positive, enduring rest is given to every muscle after a half hour's respiration of that invigorating atmosphere ; and soul and limb arc ready for a longer, loftier, and more rugged ascent.

There is something indescribable in the pleasure experienced during the first hour passed upon the piazza of the Mountain House, gazing upon the scene toward the east. That view has been described a thousand times. I shall not attempt it. Much rhetoric, and rhyme, and sentimental platitudes have been employed in the service of description, but none have conveyed to my mind a picture so graphic, truthful, and satisfactory as Natty Bumpo's reply to Edward's question, in one of Cooper's " Leather- Stocking Tales," " What see you when you get there ? "