A DELIGHTFUL DRIVE. 327 
Having arrived at Portland, State of Maine, and enjoyed 
a good meal and rest at one of the numerous hotels, the 
terminus of the Grand Trunk Railroad will have to be 
reached, where you will procure your ticket for Bethel, 
Oxford County. The scenery through which you will now 
rush, dragged by the iron horse, is magnificent, alike suit- 
ed to the taste of artist or sportsman; but one thing is 
certain to cause a regret, viz., that the numerous Veautiful 
rivers And brooks that so frequently, will be seen or trav- 
ersed are now destitute of fish, at least so I was informed, 
although I could not learn the reason why. Visions of 
mill-dams without fish-ways, and tons of sawdust floating 
in islands, hovered before me, and probably whispered a 
true cause of the destruction of the thousands of fish which 
doubtlessly swarmed here before genus homo, with his de- 
vices and march of improvement, had defiled these for- 
merly pure, pellucid brooks. Bethel, where you leave the 
train, will be found .a model village, which, for cleanliness 
and neatness, it would be impossible to surpass. -As you 
progress along the principal thoroughfare, the pretty 
dwellings, overshadowed by-handsome shade-trees, remind 
you of some of Longfellow’s beau ideal New England 
homes. The hotel also is very comfortable, and Mr. Love- 
joy, the proprietor, can give good information and instruc- 
tion as to your future proceedings. He also will supply 
you with a conveyance to take you to Upton, distant about 
twenty-seven miles, over a road far from good; but if the 
weather be fine, you will be so delighted with the beauti- 
ful panoramas of wild and magnificent mountain views that 
time will slip by rapidly, and ruts and jolts will be totally 
forgotten. For the first five or six miles of your drive you 
pass along the margin of the grand Androscoggin River, 
exhibiting a succession of pools afid rapids so eminently 
suited for salmon retreats, that you can not fail to regret 
