244 CHARACTER OF SADDLE ISLAND. 



cite the enthusiasm as, likewise, the envy of all lovers of beautiful 

 scenery. While in general outline the eastern side of the harbor is 

 low and marshy, the western is composed of granite hills from four 

 hundred to nearly five hundred feet in height, coming down to 

 within a few fathoms of the sea. Again on the east the little eleva- 

 tion, on which stands the church, is only seventy-eight feet above 

 the sea, the hill immediately behind it one hundred and seventy, 

 while the highest and next in order is only two hundred and ten 

 feet. From this elevation I could see beyond low earthy and gran- 

 ite hillocks. Immense ridges and bowlder-like rocks of granite were 

 lying about us in every direction ; beneath were bays, ponds, and low 

 marshy spots reaching in succession nearly to the sea level. The 

 formation is so much different on the opposite sides of this harbor 

 that it is quite remarkable. On the west red feldspar predomi- 

 nates, in large cliffs, whence the name Red Bay, while on the east 

 the rock is almost entirely granite or gneiss. Saddle Island, so 

 named from its resemblance to a saddle, contains a most peculiar 

 phenomenon. In the low marshy depression between the higher 

 extremities of the island is situated a small pond. Though this 

 pond is within a few feet of the level of the salt water, it is so sweet 

 and fresh that the people use it for drinking water. The pond is 

 very deep, yet with no apparent inlet anywhere. The outlet runs 

 continually, yet the supply does not appear to diminish. 



I shall never forget the clear, beautiful, varying shades of green on 

 the slopes, and the dark oudines of the houses, as the sun sank behind 

 the western hills, overshadowing them for an instant, the first night 

 of our entrance into this charming little harbor. We could see the 

 people all along the shore, wending their way to church ; while in 

 place of the well-known music of the church bells, the robins, here 

 equally abundant as at home, and the "russingels," or fox sparrows, 

 sent forth a perfect medley of harmony that accorded well with this 

 scene. 



Give me the rustic harmony of a woodland scene hke this, and 

 I will defy the best laid argument of philosophy that would attempt 

 to prove that such people, if sincere in their worship, have not 



