[1853 



TOUR FROM MONTREAL TO PORTLAND AND THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 



59 



useful a companion, I would recommend to his particular atten- 

 tion in succession, tile interesting scenery in the vicinity of Bou- 

 eherville mountain, 10 miles from Montreal; and 9 miles further, 

 beyond the river Richelieu, the pretty little village of St. Hilaire, 

 and the fine estate and attractive resideuce of Major Campbell, 

 the Seigneur of Rouville, to the left, with the wood-clad isolated 

 mountain of Belce.il to the right; and, 13 miles further, the cheer- 

 ful looking thriving town of St. Hyacinthe, situated on the river 

 Yamaska, and noted for its Catholic College. About five miles 

 beyond this, you exchange the cultivated prairie land of the St. 

 Lawrence valley, for a gradually ascending forest tract of country 

 which continues more or less until about 42 miles further you 

 cross the fine river St. Francis, where the line of Railway to Que- 

 bec turns ofl to the left, while that to Portland makes a curve to 

 the South, with the village of Richmond on one bank of the 

 river, and that of Melbout*ne on the other. 



From thence you follow the interesting valley of the St. Fran- 

 cis, — not uufrequeutly close along the banks, for about 24 miles, 

 when you cross it before arriving at the finely " located " and im- 

 portant rising town of Shei'brooke, the highly promising capital of 

 the Eastern Townships, most eligibly situated, at the confluence 

 of the liver Magog with the St. Francis, — and at which it would 

 be well worth while to halt a day, to inspect its various manufac- 

 tures, and take a ramble among the attractive scenery along the 

 noisy but useful Magog, until it plunges down a succession of 

 rocky declivities, to meet the more placid and broader St. Francis. 



Renewing yonr rapid journey, about 3 miles on you pass the 

 pretty village of Lennosville, chiefly noted for its Episcopal Col- 

 lege, and immediately afterwards cross the little river Coaticooke, 

 at its junction with the St. Francis, and follow up the course of 

 the latter, past Compton, to near its source, in a pretty lakelet 

 called Norton Pond, — crossing in the meantime the boundary 

 Hue between Canada and Vermont, about 127 miles from Mont- 

 real; and about 16 farther, you reach the- picturesque and pros- 

 pectively important station and village of Island Pond, so called 

 from the small island on the pretty little lake on which it is situ- 

 ated, 143 miles from Montreal. Soon after passing Island Pond 

 you cross the ridge of the Green Mountains, here 1176 feet above 

 the sea, and forming the boundary between the States of Ver- 

 mont and New Hampshire. 



From this interesting point, you proceed through a highly pic- 

 turesque Highland tract of country, bounded on either hand by 

 the towering peaks of the White Mouutaius, (two of which, on 

 the left, are particularly remarkable for their bare, hoary fronts,) 

 via Stratford, 15 miles, Northumberland, 12 miles, Milan, 18 

 miles, and Biiiin Falls, 7 miles, to what is indiscriminately called 

 the Alpine and Gorham House, when you have attained an ele- 

 vation of 802 feet above the level of the sea, and are 201 miles 

 from Montreal, and 91 from Portland. 



This being a very commodious and agreeably situated hotel 

 it might be well to remain a day or two here, if you can afford 

 it, to enjoy a ramble among the surrounding Alpine scenery; but 

 that not being at present our intention, let us hasten on to Port- 

 land, merely noting by the way that among the most attractive 

 points on this still romantic route are Gilead station, 11 miles — 

 a mile or two before arriving at which the railroad crosses the 

 boundary between New Hampshire and Maine, and from whence, 

 it is worthy of remark, the grade is said to have a descent of 60 

 feet in the mile; — Mechanics' Falls, 19 miles, Danville Junction, 

 16 miles, the pretty seaports of Yarmouth, 11 miles, and Fal- 

 mouth, 6, — and, last of all, Portland, 5 miles, crossing half-way 

 a bridge over a creek or inlet of the sea of about 300 feet — ■ 

 making altogether a journey of 291 miles, accomplished in the 

 short space of 12 hours ! 



Having enjoyed a clay or two in rambling about, and admiring 

 the prosperous interior, as well as the interesting and picturesque 

 environs of "the Forest City," a distinctive appellation deservedly 

 acquired by Portland from the numerous shady trees which em- 

 bellish its fine, broad streets, let us prepare to return homewards, 

 with the intention of devoting at least one day to a detour from 

 Gorham, to scale the lofty summit of Mount Washington. 



No sooner did the cars reach Gorham, than we learnt that a 

 covered four-horse waggon was about to start immediately with 

 a load of tourists for the Glen House, about seven miles distant, 

 near the foot of Mount Washington ; and therefore no time was 

 to be lost; so, transferring our cloak and carpet bag from the 

 train to this vehicle, we, (consisting of myself and a worthy 

 friend bent on the same expedition,) joined a merry partj' of some 

 ten or twelve more, and were soon jolting on our sluggish way, 

 " through woods and wilds," up the rather romantic vale of the 

 stony-bedded little river Peabody, to Glen House, — to find in 

 this sequestered spot a very commodious and comfortable hotel 

 situated on a cheerful, open, rising ground, considered 830 feet 

 above the level of Gorham, and hemmed in on every side by an 

 imposing circle of towering mountains, among the most promi- 

 nent of which rise Mounts Adams and Jefferson, overlooked by 

 their loftier superior, Mount Washington. 



Those only who have visited this singularly situated mansion, 

 can well imagine the imposing grandeur of the surrounding 

 Alpine prospect; — and I will therefore not attempt to delineate it. 

 Suffice it to note, that after a comfortable night's rest and a hearty 

 breakfast next morning, we set out with a party of six or seven 

 others, to encounter the toil of a five mile scramble to the top of 

 Mount Washington, on foot; while a few others, and among 

 these several ladies, preferred doing so on horseback — which, 

 steep and rugged as the path was described to be, we could not 

 help thinking would prove the most toilsome and dangerous mode 

 of travel. 



Shortly after leaving the Glen House, you descend into the 

 stony bed of the Peabod}", and after crossing it dry-shod, by 

 means of stepping stones and a friendly plank, the path enters 

 dense forest, composed of every variety of trees, such as beech, 

 birch, maple, oak, hemlock, mountain ash, spruce and other kinds 

 of firs, with a tangled undergrowth of various shrubs and plants, 

 so as to shut out the view on every side. We had not advanced 

 above a mile or two up our steep and rugged path, amid rocks 

 and roots, and mud and mire, and begun congratulating ourselves 

 on having wisely preferred journeying on foot ; when lo ! we 

 were startled by the sound of voices in our rear; and soon after 

 approached and passed us the expected party on horseback, 

 threading their way up the craggy defile at a wonderful rate, at 

 the discretion of their singularly sure-footed little nags. " Chacun 

 a son gout" notwithstanding, thought I, as I perceived the 

 riders hurried' forward, as it were involuntarily, with their eyes 

 anxiously fixed between the ears of their steeds, while we were 

 left at liberty to halt and take breath, or turn to snatch an occa- 

 sional glimpse at the imposing scenery above and below us. Even 

 this, however, could not be enjoyed until nearly half-way up, 

 after having exchanged the dense forest for a higher zone or belt 

 of stunted vegetation, consisting chiefly of dwarf spruce and 

 cedars, to be succeeded, about two-thirds from the top, by a dreary 

 tract of utterly shrubless, lichen-clad fragments of rock, scattered 

 in wild confusion, all the rest of the way to the summit. 



On at last nearing the anxious object of our pilgrimage, the 

 delighted eye meets in the distance a long, low, rough-built shed, 

 snugly nestled among the shapeless masses.of rock, and dignified 

 with the imposing name of the " Summit House," or " Hotel" — 



