A late writer has justly said of " Undercliff " -- " It is a lovely spot -- beautiful in itself, beautiful in its surroundings, and inexpressibly beautiful in the home affections which hallow it, and the graceful and genial hospitality which, without pretence or ostentation, receives the guest, and with heart in the grasp of the hand, and truth in the sparkle of the eye, makes him feel that he is welcome." Over that household, a

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daughter, the " fair and gentle Ida," celebrated in the following beautiful poem, presided for several years : --

" Where Hudson's wave o'er silvery sands

AVinds through the hills afar. Old Cro' Nest like a monarch stands,

Crowned with a single star ! And there, amid the billowy swells

Of rock-ribbed, cloud-capped eaitli, My fan- and gentle Ida dwells,

A nymph of mountain birth.

•• The snow flake that the cliff receives,

The diamond of the showers, Spring's tender blossoms, buds, and leaves,

The sisterhood of flowers, Jlom's early beam, eve's balmy breeze,

Her purity deflne ; Yet Ida's dearer far than these

To this fond breast of mine.

" My heart is on the hills. The shades

Of night are on my brow : Ye pleasant haunts and quiet glades,

My soul is with you now ! I bless the star-crowned Highlands, where

My Ida's footsteps roam : Oh for a falcon's wing to bear

Me onwai-d to my home ! "

Between Cold Spring and West Point lies a huge rocky island, noAV connected to the main by a reedy marsh already referred to. It was called by the Dutch navigators Martelaer's Island, and the reach in the river between it and the Storm King, Martelaer's Rack, or Martyr's Reach. The word martyr was used in this connection to signify contending and struggling, as vessels coming up the river with a fair wind would frequently find themselves, immediately after passing the point of the island into this reach, struggling with the wind right ahead.