14000 MILE vS 



and a chatty little driver ready to answer all our ques- 

 tions. It was a perfect summer afternoon, and we were 

 delighted at every turn until we reached the "Ridge,'" 

 when a cold blast struck us, and the soft breezes sud- 

 denly changed to wind that threatened to take our hats 

 oflF, if not our heads. Now for the wraps ; and will you 

 believe it? the man had put in the things we did not want, 

 and those we did want were probably on the chair in the 

 parlor, where we had left them. Between us we had one 

 veil and one neckhandkerchief, with which we secured 

 our hats and heads. There were one or two light sacques 

 and a basque ! Thinking of our warm wraps at the 

 hotel did no good, so we dressed up in what we had, and 

 with a little imagination, were comfortable. 



The narrow and comparatively level stretch, sloping 

 on either side, and the sudden ascent to the highest 

 point on the mountain, suggest a ride upon the ridgepole 

 of a house and final leap to the top of the chimney; once 

 there, we went into the cosy house, something like the 

 old one on Mt. Washington, and tied everything a little 

 tighter before we dared face the gale. We then started 

 out, and, actually in danger of being blown away, we 

 united our forces by taking hold of hands, and ran along 

 the daisy-carpeted plateau to what looked like the 

 jumping-off place to the north. There is a similarity in 

 mountain views, but each has at least one feature peculiar 

 to itself. Mt. Washington has not even a suggestion of 

 the beautiful meadows seen from Mt. Holyoke ; and from 

 one point on Moosilauke there is a view of mountain 

 tops unlike any we have seen ; just billows of mountains, 

 nothing else, and the hazy, bluish tint was only varied 



58 



