Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/403

Rh districts of Sweden. The pine-tree and the birch are indigenous here, and beneath them grow the blueberry, the raspberry, the fern, &c. Nevertheless, here also grow maize, the sugar-maple, the walnut, and chestnut-trees, with many other plants and trees which belong to a more southern climate. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this quiet, fresh journey in the open wagon, amid that tranquil, summer-rejoicing mountain district; or how fresh and agreeable it seemed to me, in comparison with a journey in a covered vehicle or a railway-carriage, which last, after the first two hours, becomes oppressively wearisome both to soul and body. But here we sat, awake and cheerful, the whole day through. Mount Washington stood before us the whole time like a landmark. This mountain, the largest and loftiest of the White Mountains, is not more than three thousand feet above the level of the sea, and has a very marked character. It is massive and pyramidal, but without an apex. The summit is a plateau, appearing at a distance like that which volcanoes present. But, unlike volcanoes, there is at the top of Mount Washington no crater, but a spring of fresh water. Deep furrows, as of mountain streams, plough the sides of the mountain. The other mountains, which link themselves in long array to this, bear a resemblance to it, but are less significant. All ascend in a gradual, pyramidal form, and have rounded tops or ridges.

The nearer we approached the great mountain, and the more the day declined, the cooler it became. The giants wrapped themselves in grey, misty mantles, and enfolded us in them also; they did not receive us kindly. Nevertheless, I felt kindly towards them, and with a sort of pleasure, allowed myself to be enclosed in their cold breath. My friend the moon ascended, and combated for awhile with the spirits of the mist, and looked down upon us from amid them with serene and kindly glances. My friend wished well to us, and that I knew perfectly