_Lake George_, which discharges itself into Lake Champlain, is the most beautiful sheet of water in the whole country. It is thirty-six miles long, and from two to four broad. It is situated in the eastern part of the state of New-York. Its waters are deep and remarkably transparent, and from their extreme limpidness, the French gave them the name of the Lake of the Holy Sacrament. The shores consist of abrupt and shelving points, and are bounded by two long ranges of mountains,[20] sometimes rising boldly from the water, and at others ascending with a gentle and graceful sweep, exhibiting naked and weather-beaten cliffs and wild forests, intermixed with fine cultivated fields, lawns and pastures. The village of Caldwell stands on the south-eastern side of the lake, and is much visited by travellers who come to enjoy the fine scenery in the neighborhood. A steam-boat plies upon the lake in summer. The islands of the lake are said to be three hundred and sixty-five in number. They are of every form and size, and contribute greatly to the romantic beauty of its surface. Some of them are covered with trees, others are thinly wooded, and others are abrupt and craggy rocks. Diamond Island abounds in crystals of quartz. Long Island contains one hundred acres, and is under cultivation. At a place called the Narrows, the lake is contracted, and its surface is covered with a most beautiful cluster of islands which extends for several miles. Some of them are covered with trees, some show little lawns or spots of grass, heaps of barren rocks, or gently sloping shores; and most of them are ornamented with pines, hemlocks, and other tall trees, solitary or in groups, and disposed with the most charming variety. Sometimes an island will be found just large enough to support a few fine trees, or perhaps a single one, while the next may appear like a solid mass of bushes and wild flowers; near at hand, perhaps, is a third, with a dark grove of pines, and a decaying old trunk in front of it; and thus, through every interval between the islands, as you pass along, another and another labyrinth is opened to view, among little isolated spots of ground, divided by narrow channels, from which it seems impossible for a man who has entered them ever to find his way out. Some of the islands look almost like ships with their masts; and many have an air of lightness, as if they were sailing upon the lake. After passing the Narrows, the lake widens again, and the retrospect is for several miles through that passage with ranges of rounded mountain summits appearing at a great distance between them. The lake contains abundance of the finest perch, bass, and other fish; trout are found in a stream flowing into the southern part. Near the southern shore, are the ruins of Fort William Henry and Fort George, celebrated in the early wars of the French.