. The White hills; their legends, landscape, and poetry. original and practical speech. But the cone ofMadison, seen from the gateway of the ravine, is not only steep,regular, and pointed, but, all other mountains being shut out, it looksimmensely massive. The whole movmtain has seldom looked so highfrom below as this bare fraction of it did, which we were gazing atfrom an elevation of four thousand feet on its sides. And its colorwas even more fascinating than its form. It puzzled us to under-stand how the rounding lines of the summit, as seen from the road in S62 THE WHITE mLLS. Randolph, co
. The White hills; their legends, landscape, and poetry. original and practical speech. But the cone ofMadison, seen from the gateway of the ravine, is not only steep,regular, and pointed, but, all other mountains being shut out, it looksimmensely massive. The whole movmtain has seldom looked so highfrom below as this bare fraction of it did, which we were gazing atfrom an elevation of four thousand feet on its sides. And its colorwas even more fascinating than its form. It puzzled us to under-stand how the rounding lines of the summit, as seen from the road in S62 THE WHITE mLLS. Randolph, could have been conjured into the lance-like sharpnesahere revealed to us. And how the Hght graj which it wears to abeholder in Jeflferson, or the leathery brown it presents from theGlen, or the gray green which is its real tint -s^hen we go close to itsrocks, could have transformed itself into the leaden lava hue in whichit rose before us, was a stranger mystery. I feel sure that it wassome trick of the light, like many of the sunset tints, and not the. color which the cone steadily presents. The effect was the moregrand because it seemed as though nothing but batteries could haveproduced it. The peak looked like some proud fortification that hadbeen stormed at mih leaden shot by a park of artillery for artist was grieved that we had not more time to allow him insketching the view. We all looked with longing eyes to the summit, which seemed toInvite us to scale it; but the sun was already past noon, and we mustreach the house on Mount Washington by dark. So Ave resolved to THE ASCENT OF MOUNT WASHINGTON. 363 make the ascent of Mount Adams, whose topmost rocks were stillnearly a mile oiF from us. Between the spires of Adams and Madi-son on the ridge there is a pond of icy water, refreshing enough toweary climbers, and from this point another view peculiarly striking,and in itself worth the whole toil of the expedition, is gained. Weare almost overhung by the lawless roc
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectwhitemo, bookyear1876
