to-day has the double charm of natural 

 beauty and of human association ; it is old, 

 as age is reckoned in this new world ; it has 

 grown hard under the tread of sleeping 

 generations, and the great figures of history 

 have passed over it in their journeys be- 

 tween the two great cities which mark its 

 limits. In the earlier days it was the king's 

 highway, and along its up-hill and down- 

 dale course the battalions of royal troops 

 marched and countermarched to the call 

 of bugles that have gone silent these hun- 

 dred years and more. It is a road of varied 

 fortunes, like many of those who have 

 passed over it; it is sometimes rich in all 

 manner of priceless possessions, and again 

 it is barren, poverty-stricken, and desolate. 

 It climbs long hills, sometimes in a round- 

 about, hesitating, half-hearted way, and 

 sometimes with an abrupt and breathless 

 ascent ; at the summit it seems to pause a 

 moment as if to invite the traveller to 

 survey the splendid domain which it com- 

 mands. On one side, in such a restful 

 moment, one sees the wide circle of waters, 

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