Nor were these earth-born castles bare, And creeping shrubs, of thousand dyes, Of the resources of wildness and beauty within the five miles of the Franconia pass-the Eagle Cliffs, the Profile, the Basin, the Flume, the Cascades, and the ascent of Mount Lafayette, we are to treat, of course, in another chapter. Now, we must briefly allude to the approach to the mountains by THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY. The same train which is left at Plymouth by those who wish to go directly by stage to the Flume House, will carry passengers some seventy miles north of Plymouth, to Littleton. This village is on the Lower Amonoosuc River, very near its junction with the Connecticut. The cars that leave Boston in the morning reach Littleton about five in the afternoon. From Littleton it is eleven miles to the Profile House in the Franconia Notch, and twenty-two miles to the Crawford House, near the White Mountain Notch. So that a traveller, on the same day that he leaves Boston, can reach the great Franconia range from the northwest, before the purple has faded from Lafayette, and the expression of the Profile has faded out in the twilight. Or, later in the evening, about nine o'clock, he can be landed by stage at the gateway of the Notch; or can stop at the White Mountain House, five miles nearer to Littleton than the Crawford House, and thus save an hour's ride after dark. To reach Franconia the same day, from Boston, one can choose between the Littleton route with its eleven miles staging, or the Plymouth route, up the Pemigewasset, with the afternoon stage drive of twenty-five or thirty miles. But if one desires to reach the White Mountain Notch on the same day that he starts from Boston, the Littleton route is the only one that will enable him to do it. By the Saco valley, it will be remembered, a day and a half of continuous travel is required, with sixty miles of stage riding. The peculiarity of this approach to the mountains is that the highest ranges are seen first of all. The ride from Littleton to Bethlehem brings into full view the whole extent of the White Mountain range, and also the grand outlines of Mount Lafayette and its neigh boring peaks. The stages reach Bethlehem at about the time in the afternoon when the light is most favorable, and begins to flush the Mount Washington range with the richest coloring. It is a great pity that Bethlehem is not one of the prominent stopping-places for travellers who seek the mountain region. No village commands so grand a panoramic view. The whole horizon is fretted with moun tains. If the public houses here were more attractive or commodious, persons could be tempted to pass two or three days; and they would find themselves more and more fascinated with the views from the village of the solid pyramid of Lafayette, and of the steep slopes, crowned by the dome of Mount Washington, whose cascades feed the Connecticut. Bethlehem is about as far from Mount Washington as North Conway is, and lies on the opposite side. The drives in the neighborhood, commanding as they do, within short distances, both the Franconia and the White Mountain Notches, and the meadows of the Connecticut, are very varied and delightful. The town lies, also, at the favorable landscape-distance from the hills. An enthusiastic villager used to speak to us with great contempt of the Notches in which people rushed to burrow like moles, and remarked, "I tell 'em, if they want to see scenyury, this is the place." Whether his taste for natural beauty was affected by the fact that he kept a small public house in Bethlehem, is a question we will not raise. That his opinion was correct is more clear. The Connecticut valley is also reached from the eastern side, by the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. This road crosses the Connecticut at Northumberland, some thirty miles above Gorham. From this point it is nine miles, by stage, to Lancaster, N. H.; which is one of the most charming villages the Connecticut can boast. By this route one can leave Boston in the morning, and reach Lancaster between eight and nine in the evening. This town, which is the county seat of Coös, has not been prominent as a place of resort for the lovers of mountain scenery; but we are sure that it is destined hereafter to attract a far larger proportion of visitors and guests. If the Grand Trunk Railway had passed through it, according to the first intention, it would doubtless have been the great rival of North Conway. A new, spacious, and excellent public house has now been finished in Lancaster, and it must hereafter take its place as one of the most attractive resorts, in the near neighborhood of the mountains. The drives about Lancaster for interest and beauty cannot be surpassed. The river flows directly through the town, and its intervale has a never wearying charm. The tasselled maize, full grain or clover, Far o'er the level meadow grows, And through it, like a wayward rover, Majestic elms, with trunks unshaken By all the storms an age can bring, Trail sprays whose rest the zephyrs waken, Grand combinations, too, of the river and its meadows with the Franconia range and the vast White Mountain wall, are to be had in short drives, beyond the river, upon the Lunenburg hills. There are several hills of moderate height around the town from which picturesque sections of the mountain surroundings are to be enjoyed. The Franconia Notch may be reached in four or five hours; and afternoon drives to various points within ten miles can be taken, where both the great ranges are included within the sweep of the eye. We would especially speak of the spectacle from Bray Hill, on the edge of Whitefield, around which Nature spreads, about five in the afternoon, as gorgeous a feast of color on the meadows and cultivated uplands, that lie within the wide circle of larger mountain guards, as New Hampshire can supply. A ride of eight miles to the village of Jefferson, where the road from Gorham unites with the Cherry Mountain road to "The Notch," gives, as we shall show hereafter, the very grandest view of the White Mountain range, and of Mount Lafayette, also, which can be found. Here Mount Washington towers, in satisfactory majesty, above the whole curving line of the confederate summits. Stern Sagamore! where are the tawny tribes Our very works are tombstones to our dust! What a pity that the hills could not have kept the names which the Indian tribes gave to them! The names which the highest peaks of the great range bear were given to them in 1820, by a party from Lancaster. How absurd the order is! Beginning at "The Notch," and passing around to Gorham, these are the titles of the summits which are all seen from the village just spoken of: Webster, Clinton, Pleasant, Franklin, Monroe, Washington, Clay, Jefferson, Adams, Madison. What a wretched jumble! These are what we have taken in exchange for such Indian words as Agiochook, which is the baptismal title of Mount Washington, and for words like Ammonoosuc, Moosehillock, Contoocook, Pennacook, Pentucket. Think, too, of the absurd association of names which the three mountains that |