4 Iftature Stubies in Berkshire. 



lieves he has not exhausted the possible experiences 



to be found in this spot. And so the charm grows, 



.and the ; sense of belonging to the soil, and the belief 



that there is nowhere the like of this blend of tonic 



' asr- .and .restful scenery, of wild nature and cultivated 



land, of hill-country and broad plains. 



Probably every lover of Berkshire has his own 

 views as to the finest approach to the enchanted 

 country ; and there are many things to be said for 

 every one of them. If one comes, as most outsiders 

 do, from the South, he will have the keenest delight 

 in the winding path which the railway follows along 

 the sinuous Housatonic, and the foot-hills of the 

 Taconic range in north-western Connecticut. 



From New Milford to Canaan the route is through 

 a country which only lacks the larger dimensions to 

 be a replica of the Blue Ridge and West Virginia. 

 The railway is a sort of pocket edition of the Balti- 

 more and Ohio. There are the same swift rushes 

 along river banks ; the same wild plunges down grade, 

 and laboured climbing up again ; the same sharp curves 

 around rocky corners, where the steep slopes come 

 close to the rapid current ; the same forest-clad 

 ridges ; the same dark-green ravines along whose 

 lowest levels the stream slides downward toward the 

 sea. One sees, too, among his fellow-passengers the 

 same drawn lips, the same ashy pallor, that betray 

 the " train-sickness" which is but little less than 

 seasickness. ' 



And when at last the valley broadens above Falls 



