We saw one house, pretty, small, with green blinds, and much
quietness in its environments, on the other side of the river, with a
flat-bottomed boat for communication. It was a pleasant idea that the
world was kept off by the river.
Proceeding onward, we reached Shelburne Falls. Here the river, in the
distance of a few hundred yards, makes a descent of about a hundred and
fifty feet over a prodigious bed of rock. Formerly it doubtless flowed
unbroken over the rock, merely creating a rapid; and traces of water
having raged over it are visible in portions of the rock that now lie
high and dry. At present the river roars through a channel which it has
worn in the stone, leaping in two or three distinct falls, and rushing
downward, as from flight to flight of a broken and irregular staircase.
The mist rises from the highest of these cataracts, and forms a pleasant
object in the sunshine. The best view, I think, is to stand on the verge
of the upper and largest fall, and look down through the whole rapid
descent of the river, as it hurries, foaming, through its rock-worn
path,--the rocks seeming to have been hewn away, as when mortals make a
road.
Pages:
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255