Bidding our friends adieu, we thought what a grand harvest of by-
gone memories the day had brought.
One can never forget the groups of yellow and silver birch that
grow like beautiful bouquets along the trail. Druids built their
altars and worshiped beneath the aged oaks, but surely there
were no lovely groups of white and yellow birch there, or they
would have forsaken their oaks for these graceful, fragrant
trees. What lessons of humility they teach by their modest,
humble manner!
Where the forest contains so many noble trees to challenge one's
admiration, you will linger fondly among these glorious
creations of God's art, where each new group is more beautiful
than the last, and extol their beauty above all other New
England trees. They are indeed the gold and silver censers in
Nature's vast cathedral which scatter incense on every passing
breeze. One could wish for no lovelier monument to mark his last
resting place - and it would indeed be a noble life to be worthy
of such distinction.
The most beautiful of all eastern evergreen trees is the
hemlock, which forms a most vivid contrast to the groups of
birch, and when they are massed in the background the birch
stand out in fine relief. Then how different from the vigorous
aspiring pines they are. Poor soil seems to be no drawback to
the pines, for they appear to possess a native vitality found in
no other tree, and push upward sturdily toward the light; their
"spiry summits pointing always heavenward." The slender,
graceful branches of the hemlock trees are hung with innumerable
drooping sprays of bluish green foliage, beautiful as the
Osmunda ferns that grow in these wonderful woods. Then how
charming their blue flowers and rich brown cones that form
clusters at the ends of their numerous sprays They are just the
ornaments to enhance their delicate foliage, and a bloom of
silvery-blue clothes the trees like that which veils the distant
mountain sides.
The trees became thicker and the scenery more rugged as we
neared a place where the road doubled back, forming a sort of
triangular piece of land known as "Hairpin Curve." This seems to
be one of the shrines of travelers, and the goal of many a
summer pilgrimage. There is an observation tower here, where a
wonderful view of the country may be had. The view, though not
so extensive, is very much like that obtained from Whitcomb's
summit. Here we met two boys with pails well filled with
blueberries and huckleberries.
