The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 2, February, 1864: Devoted To Literature And National PolicyVarious
History
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 5, No. 2, February, 1864: Devoted To Literature And National Policy
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Now, so deep are the paths cut in the mountain, so high are the banks,
so contracted is the way, that, the higher you rise, the less you appear
to see; and you feel disappointed at missing the grand horizon of
smaller mountains, on which, coming nearer the summit, you expected to
look; but now, a shout of exultation breaks from your lips; and well it
may. A new Pacific Ocean seems to expand before you, as if by some
sudden enchantment. It is an ocean of constant verdure and inexhaustible
fertility, spreading far, far below you, as far as you can see, on every
side but that from which, high on the mountain top, you look down upon
the view. The seeming ocean is the first table land, whose soft, green
undulations fill the horizon, though, when the sky is clear, the snowy
mountains may be seen far away, dazzling the heavens and the earth with
their brightness. Spring and autumn here join hands, consecrating the
double seedtime and the double harvest of the year. Yonder is a field of
ripened grain. And there is the Indian laborer, near his cabin of thatch
and clay, guiding the rude ploughshare through the fertile soil.
Descend the mountain, and, crossing that sea of beauty, ascend the
mountains beyond. The scenes, just now all soft and pleasing, give way
to others which unite the lovely and the severe. Look upward. There
rises a mountain, so gently curving and so green, so alluring with its
light and shade, that it seems the very emblem of graceful majesty,
looking as if it must know its wondrous beauty, and as calm as if no
wind strong enough to make a violet tremble could ever breathe upon its
face; yet near, in vivid contrast, stands a craggy peak, towering up,
up, toward the deep blue sky, so broken and so black that it seems like
the very Giant Despair of mountains, frowning with unearthly fierceness
upon his gentle neighbor, who returns his grim looks with meek and
placid trust. Where whirlwinds and tempests await the signal for howling
desolation, stands the beautiful colossal image of sublime serenity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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