XVI 



Alpine Blossoms of the Dome 



Mountains seem to have been built for the human race, as 

 at once their schools and cathedrals ; full of treasures of illu- 

 minated manuscript for the scholar, kindly in simple lessons 

 for the worker, quiet in pale cloisters for the thinker, glorious 

 in holiness for the worshipper.— John Ruskin. 



OF the swamps and domes of the Hoosac 

 region, Henry Ward Beecher once said: 

 '* The most level portion of this region, if 

 removed to Illinois, would be an eminent 

 hill. The region is a valley only because the moun- 

 tains on the east and west are so much higher than the 

 hills in the intermediate space. The endless variety 

 of such a country never ceases to astonish and please. 

 At every ten steps the aspect changes; ever>^ variation 

 of atmosphere, and therefore every hour of the day, 

 produces new effects. It is everlasting company to 

 you. It is, indeed, just like some choice companion 

 of rich heart and genial imagination, never twice ahke, 

 in mood, in conversation, in radiant sobriety, or half- 

 bright sadness, bold, tender, deep, various." 



On July 19th I drove beyond the Bogs of Etchowog, 

 over a portion of the Hill Road toward Bennington. 

 As I passed the Elijah Mason Farm, I turned my 



