In this manner I spent some hours, watching the varied impression, made by the cataract, on those who disturbed me, and returning to unwearied contemplation, when left alone. At length my time came to depart. There is a grassy footpath through the woods, along the summit of the bank, to a point whence a causeway, hewn in the side of the precipice, goes winding down to the Ferry, about half a mile below the Table Rock. The sun was near setting, when I emerged from the shadow of the trees, and began the descent. The indirectness of my downward road continually changed the point of view, and showed me, in rich and repeated succession, now, the whitening rapids and majestic leap of the main river, which appeared more deeply massive as the light departed; now, the lovelier picture, yet still sublime, of Goat Island, with its rocks and grove, and the lesser falls, tumbling over the right bank of the St. Lawrence, like a tributary stream; now, the long vista of the river, as it eddied and whirled between the cliffs, to pass through Ontario toward the sea, and everywhere to be wondered at, for this one unrivalled scene. The golden sunshine tinged the sheet of the American cascade, and painted on its heaving spray the broken semi-circle of a rainbow, heaven's own beauty crowning earth's sublimity. My steps were slow, and I paused long at every turn of the descent, as one lingers and pauses who discerns a brighter and brightening excellence in what he must soon behold no more. The solitude of the old wilderness now reigned over the whole vicinity of the falls. My enjoyment became the more rapturous, because no poet shared it, nor wretch devoid of poetry profaned it; but the spot so famous through the world was all my own! HELPS TO STUDY. Notes and Questions. Why was Hawthorne's first impression of Niagara a disappointment? How did Hawthorne come to know that Niagara is a wonder of the world? What feelings did Niagara produce in Hawthorne? What effect on the reader did Hawthorne seek in this story? What does Hawthorne say is necessary in order to appreciate nature? What relation has Niagara to the geography of the country, its animal and vegetable life, its trade and industry? What is the effect on one's feelings when he "considers that the vapor and the foam are as everlasting as the rocks which produce them"? Niagara _grew_ on Hawthorne. Justify this. Note the comments of other observers based upon their interpretation of Niagara. Do you think one who sees nothing in Niagara except a mass of rock and water, vapor and sunshine, could appreciate its beauty, grandeur, and sublimity? Words and Phrases for Discussion. "insulated" "rapturous" "abyss of clouds" "eddied and whirled" "epicurism" "convoluted" "voice of ages" "mysterious voice" "unrivaled scene" "Eternal Rainbow" "majestic leap" * * * * * EDGAR ALLAN POE