Page:The Homes of the New World- Vol. III.djvu/406

Rh little lake, resembling a bright oval toilette glass, inclosed in a verdant frame of leafage. The old man of the mountain looks out gloomily over this quiet lake, and the clouds float far below his chin.

Another head is that of a helmeted warrior, with huge whiskers of magnificent moss, evidently one of Thor's good fellows. I flatter myself with having made the discovery of two faces. One, which is seen in the distance against the blue sky, is the countenance of a beautiful woman, glancing upwards with an expression of unspeakable melancholy. An old pine-tree stands like the sign of the cross above her head; the brow is surrounded as by a diadem of wavy hair. It is an extremely remarkable profile, especially for the soft beauty of the mouth and chin. Below this noble countenance, if you step back a few paces, another presents itself, ugly and cruel, with a great wart on its forehead. Evidently a wicked giant, who keeps a beautiful princess in captivity! I caught glimpses of several other countenances, and should certainly have traced them out if I had remained longer in company with the giants.

The Indians are said to have worshipped these faces, and to have offered sacrifices to them as to divinities; they are also said to have many legends concerning them. The conquerors and successors of the Indians have not left here any other traces than of some tragical events.

One place is called “Nancy Bridge,” from a young girl who was found here frozen to death. She was the daughter of a farmer in the neighbourhood, and had one evening a quarrel with her lover, in consequence of which he left her in anger. She followed him in a state of desperation, and was overtaken by night in a snow-storm. The next morning she was found frozen to death, and her lover became insane.

Not far from this place in the valley stands the now deserted “Wiley's House,” as it is called. A few