Niagara Falls 



1885 relief in the spectacle of that same power, no longer let loose for 

 er destruction, like the wrath of the hurricane, but eternally flowing, 



restrained, obedient, beneficient, and arrayed in every robe of 

 the beautiful. It is this combined appeal to every sense and every 

 faculty, exalting the soul into a higher sphere of contemplation, 

 which distinguishes this spot over all others. 



There is in man a supernatural element, in virtue of which he 

 aspires to lay hold of the Infinites by which he is surrounded. In 

 all ages men have sought to find, or to create, the scenes or the 

 objects which move it to activity. It was this spirit which con- 

 secrated the oracle at Delphi and the oaks of Dodona ; reared the 

 marvel of Eleusis, and hung in the heavens the dome of St. Peter. 

 It is the highest, the profoundest, element of man's nature. Its 

 possession is what most distinguishes him from other creatures, 

 and what most distinguishes the best among his own ranks from 

 their brethren. Surely, it must be allowed that everything which 

 tends, on the one hand, to indulge this sentiment, or on the other 

 to disparage or obstruct it, is matter of the deepest human 

 concern. 



It is a characteristic of this sentiment that it cannot endure a 

 discord. The rapt soul, borne aloft in visions, cannot sustain its 

 elevation in the presence of intrusions which recall it to earth; 

 and so the visitor to this natural temple, like the worshipper in a 

 great cathedral, cannot feel the best inspirations of the place, nor 

 receive its high teachings, if disturbed or disconcerted by incon- 

 gruous sights or sounds. 



The peril thus suggested is one to which Niagara has long been 

 exposed. The noble forest growths which once crowned these 

 banks have in large measure disappeared. The tender draperies 

 of foliage and flower which everywhere concealed the nakedness 

 of the rocks, have, in many places been rudely stripped away. 

 Unsightly structures, erected for what may be fitly called, in such 

 surroundings, merely sordid purposes, everywhere meet the eye. 

 And in addition, the ordinary accompaniments of places of pub- 

 lic resort, the showmen, the venders of small wares, the guides 



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