journey.

At eight the following morning, a steady black pony, with a light open
wagon, appeared at the door; and by ten o'clock the travellers reached
the mountain top. Their steed showed marvellous endurance in the way of
slow pacing down steep hills, which they afterward found had been
acquired in leading sad trains of mourners to the modest graveyards,
wherein rest the earthly remains of the peaceful dwellers in this
pastoral vale. The first four or five miles of road were excellent, but
the last one or two so rough and stony, that they were quite willing to
walk. On top of the mountain stands a little inn, commanding a
magnificent view in several directions. As they neared the end of their
journey, they rejoiced to see a white house gleaming through the trees,
and promising food and shelter. The sound of coming wheels brought out
the land-lady, who gave the travellers a hearty welcome, and assured
them of her ability to harbor them for the night. The end was
accomplished--the goal reached! And what a goal! Nowhere among all the
beautiful scenery in the Middle and Eastern States is there a spot more
characteristic and interesting than Paltz Point, and the lake that lies
under its shadow--that lake, whose name was a mystery, even to the
inmates of the house built upon its brink. Its waters are clear, and of
a deep green hue; its depth is said to be great, and its rocky shores
rise in perpendicular cliffs of from ten to two hundred feet. The
highest point stands three or four hundred feet above the surface of the
water; but in that part the cliffs are no longer perpendicular. The
length of the lake is about a mile, and the width perhaps half that
distance. The rocks are gray sandstone or quartz conglomerate, making
the cliffsides, except where covered by black lichens, of a glittering
white. On one side, the rocks rise in steep, precipitous masses, while
on the other they are shattered into every imaginable form. The clefts