I=»rloo Tx'croii.ty-fi.xro Ooxrts. 
 
 PS 3129 
 .M32 
 Copy 1 
 
 ON 
 
 NiiMiri Falli 
 
 m. ,a... 'w^©^. 
 
 LOUISVILLE, KY. 
 
 SHERRILL, TURNER ct CO., PRS., 292 MAIN ST. 
 1874. 
 
^ 
 
A 
 
 ON 
 
 Siiiita 
 
 BY R. A. WADE. 
 
 LOUISVILLE, KY. 
 
 SHERRILL, TURNER & CO., PRS., 292 MAIN ST. 
 
 1874. 
 
,V\/32. 
 
 Entered according tu Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by 
 
 R. A. WADE, 
 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, lit Wasliington. 
 
Friendly Reader: I send out this little book into 
 the great and busy world, hoping whatever of poetic 
 merit it may possess will find ready acknowledgment 
 by all. 
 
 Having looked upon the most stupendous work of 
 nature in this lower sphere, I felt prompted to give 
 expression of my admiration of the scene. I have 
 depicted, with all the powers of my imagination, the 
 regal splendor of Niagara ; and, although the theme 
 is unexhausted, I feel hopeful of a fond appreciation 
 by you of my humble eflforts. 
 
 If I succeed in entertaining for a short time the 
 indulgent peruser of this little poem, my object will 
 have been accomplished. 
 
 Go then, little book, and may the blessings of God 
 go with you. The Author. 
 
M. ^ ©mm. 
 
 ON 
 
 WIA&AMA FAMM^ 
 
 BY K. A. WADE 
 
 Niagara! sweeping, dashing, and i^ublime, 
 Whose thunders herahled the birth of time, 
 Whose voice rolled from out the mighty deep, 
 And woke all things terrestrial from their sleep : 
 
 Thou signal given in detonations grand; 
 Thou voice of God which spoke His first command ; 
 Thou voice of "many waters," thou didst say 
 To Time, move on in thine appointed way. 
 
 Time, from his tresses shook the dcAVS of night, 
 And wheeled his car Avithin the morning light; 
 The dazzling sun arose to take a view, 
 Awarding to each object what was due, 
 
 And as he rolled along his burning wheel. 
 The new-born Earth her wonders to reveal. 
 In beauteous motion glided 'neath the sun. 
 And the world's grand exhibition was begun. 
 
 His course he now directed to the west. 
 While all things basking in his rays were blessed ; 
 The mighty ocean rolled his silvery wave. 
 Reflecting back the genial light he gave ; 
 
6 NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 
 
 The verdant isles upon his bosom borne, 
 Looked fresh and beautiful that natal morn, 
 While towering mountains pierced the azure dome, 
 All seeming loth to make this world their home. 
 
 The Eastern continent, a picture fjiir. 
 Spread out her beauties and her bounties rare; 
 Forsooth to catch the sun's approving ray, 
 To Avin the prize and bear the wreath away. 
 
 Her Oriental charms, her lavish stores. 
 In rich effusion all around she pours ; 
 But all in vain, the prize slie has not won: 
 He smiles approvingly, but passes on. 
 
 The undulating plain, with myriad flowers. 
 The forest dense with nature's gorgeous bowers. 
 The valley with its silver pearling stream. 
 Pure as an angel or an angel's dream. 
 
 Disclose a world of wealth so wonderous fair 
 That seemingly there is naught in earth or air 
 That can at all their equals bring to view; 
 So unto these the prize is surely due. 
 
 But no, still higher up the sun ascends. 
 While greater lustre from his disc he lends. 
 That all the world may see him yield the prize 
 To thee, Niagara, prince beneath the skies. 
 
 Now with a genial kiss and sunny glow. 
 He wreathes around thy brow a gorgeous bow; 
 And thus bedecked with nature's brightest gem. 
 Thou, of a right, dost wear the diadem. 
 
 August and awful in thy regal mein, 
 Hast thou forever held thy potent reign ; 
 And none can stay thy wild, tumultuous flood, 
 Except the powers of Almighty God. 
 
NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 
 
 Thy battlements all rugged, upward loom, 
 Thy thunders make me tremble as they boom; 
 While at thy summit, to enhance the scene, 
 Thy liquid mass assumes the purest green. 
 
 Thy veil of mist unceasingly ascends, 
 While heaven's rainboAV proudly o'er it bends; 
 Triumphal arch, thy honors to proclaim, 
 Insignia to thy never d3nng fame. 
 
 Thy upper rapids gleam with flying waves, 
 A mighty phaL-mx, like so many braves. 
 Who, hearing of a battle from afar. 
 Come rushing to the thunder din of Avar. 
 
 They proudly lift their foaming crests on high, 
 And to thy front advance, but not to die; 
 But with a giant spring and awful leap. 
 Plunge to thy vortex o'er thy mighty steep. 
 
 Here foaming, dashing, seething, they rebound, 
 In great commotion hurled, with deaffening sound; 
 And now in wreathes as Avhite as driven snow, 
 File off in beauty in thy stream below. 
 
 The very earth is trembling from the shock. 
 And winds arising, beat against tliy rock; 
 The Cave of Winds, where ever howls the storm, 
 O'erspanned by thy majestic liquid form. 
 
 I've wandered through that labyrinthan cave. 
 And heard its clashing winds and Avaters rave; 
 Each striving for dominion never gains. 
 But anarchy terrific ever reigns. 
 
 Here flashing jewels glitter in thy spray. 
 Prismatic colors on thy bosom play. 
 In endless forms of rich and varied hue. 
 More radiant than a palace ever knew. 
 
8 NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 
 
 The sun careering in meridian height, 
 Or rising from the sombre hip of night, 
 Or sinking in the west, at twilight hour, 
 Would celebrate the wonders of thy power. 
 
 Fair Luna, then, arising on the scene. 
 
 Would robe thee in her light of mellow sheen : 
 
 An airy vapor, rich in fleec}" fold. 
 
 Which glimmers like a molten sea of gold. 
 
 And then, to beautify thy coronet, 
 Already thick with glittering jewels set, 
 A lunar bow, a rare and priceless boon, 
 Is yielded by the smiling silver moon. 
 
 Another trophy to thy merit gained, 
 Which none but thee has ever yet attained ; 
 Thus giving thee dominion of the night. 
 For none would dare dispute thy granted right. 
 
 The myriad gems that deck the azure dome, 
 The sweeping stellar worlds that through it roam, 
 All find reflection as they pass o'er thee, 
 And add to thy unmatched sublimit}'. 
 
 Then on proud stream ! roll on, forever on ! 
 And wield thy scepter from thy peerless throne, 
 While eager, teeming millions come to see 
 These things stupendous, told abroad of thee. 
 
 Empires have risen, flourished, passed aAvaj^, 
 Their noblest monuments gone to decay, 
 And only piles of rubbish mark the spot 
 Which indicate they were, but now are not. 
 
 The grandest temples in memorium reared. 
 Grown dim with age, have long since disappeared 
 Like Babylon, the rich, the proud ; 0, where 
 Is she ? The sat^a^s hold their orgies there. 
 
NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 
 
 The Bitterns howl a dismal boding wail, 
 
 That makes the heart to throb, the cheek to pale — 
 
 So solemn and so fearful is the sound. 
 
 That wakes the slumbering echoes all around. 
 
 Mutation, wreck, and ruin only wait 
 
 The time appointed, to annihilate 
 
 The works of man. I retrospect the past. 
 
 And through the vista, what a mighty waste ! 
 
 Successive generations fall asleep. 
 
 With no enduring chronicle to keep 
 
 The lethean wave from washing out the trace 
 
 Of all they were. Forgotten, gone apace. 
 
 But thou, proud stream, still boldest up thine head. 
 Thy grandeur hast not lost, nor laurels fled ; 
 But fresh and dazzling through all lapse of time 
 As when the new-born Earth flashed in her prime. 
 
 Thy music in one mighty volume swells, 
 And fills thy vast cathedral with its spells. 
 Which charm, entrance, and awe the listening soul 
 Of him that wonders, while thy anthems roll. 
 
 Yes, thy cathedral, heaven and earth agree. 
 To thus unite the "morning stars" with thee 
 In one euphoneous, sweeping, glorious strain 
 To God, who rules with everlasting reign. 
 
 The universe, then, thy cathedral is. 
 And all its swelling harmony is His; 
 Nor would the heavenly choir be complete, 
 If thy deep bass was rendered obsolete. 
 
 The arch of heaven reverberates aloud, 
 'Tis borne on every breeze, on every cloud; 
 And angel tongues, impassioned with the song, 
 Repeat the chorus as it sweeps along. 
 
10 NIAGAKA FALLS — A POEM. 
 
 All heaven is glad, and earth stands in amaze, 
 While both unite in this grand li^mm of praise, 
 In rapt devotion to the Author given. 
 Who harmonizes sinful earth with heaven. 
 
 Thine isles reclining, as in pensive mood. 
 Upon the angry bosom of thy flood. 
 If they could speak, might tell a tragic tale; 
 Events heart-thrilling, wrapped within the veil 
 
 Of dark oblivion ! in the vast beyond ! 
 I call, but who will answer ? None respond : 
 I then make bold a tale to improvise, 
 NoAv listen while I thus soliloquise. 
 
 Perchance the Indian Brave did gently glide 
 In his canoe, a dam&'el by his side. 
 On thy smooth bosom many miles above, 
 Entranced in a romantic dream of love. 
 
 Nor heeded as the moments quickly sped, 
 
 Nor thought at all of danger just ahead, 
 
 Nor seemed to know how swiftl}' shot his bark. 
 
 As nearer they approached thy brink. But hark ! 
 
 Thy deaffening peals of thunder break that trance, 
 NoAv with the speed of lightning the}" advance, 
 And with a giant's strength that Indian Brave 
 Now plies his oars his precious freight to save. 
 
 A scream, heartrending, rings upon the air; 
 A woman's voice, in eloquent dispair. 
 Is pleading for her life, which nerves his arm 1 
 He'd die a tliousand deatlis to shield from harm 
 
 That lovely one. Inexorable fate. 
 
 Must it be soV O Ood, too late, too late I 
 
 His oars tly in splinters from the force 
 
 With which he strikes, that he mav change the course 
 
NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 11 
 
 Of that frail bark, but now he strives no more, 
 For naught is left to guide him to the shore; 
 Upon the maiden now he turns his eyes. 
 And strives to hush her wild imploring cries. 
 
 She hears that voice, now fronting face to face. 
 They cling in deathless love, in fond embrace; 
 A moment more, they gain thy fatal brink. 
 And with a plunge, down fathoms deep the}^ sink. 
 
 The tale is told, and thus it oft has been. 
 With many victims unawares drawn in 
 Thy %ing rapids. Onward to their doom 
 They rushed, and found in thee a water}^ tomb. 
 
 But then, Niagara, thou hast other scenes 
 In store. 'Tis when Jehovah intervenes 
 To give thy panorama fearful form. 
 And lends the powers of a thunder storm. 
 
 A storm at night, in ink}^ blackness shrouds 
 Thy summit, Avith its fierce and angry clouds. 
 Like spirit forms in vengeful mood and dire. 
 Now come to hurl their lightning bolts of fire. 
 
 Old Vulcan, with a voice deep and hoarse, 
 In stern command, now marshals all his force 
 Of elements — a magazine replete. 
 With wrath, intent thy powers to defeat: 
 
 And quick as thought a flaming torch applies, 
 Tlie fusee sets, which on its mission flies 
 With fiery train, that magazine to light — 
 'Tis done ! Terrific furies in their might 
 
 With fulminations earth and heaven shake. 
 While lurid lightnings in their frenzy break 
 From hidden caverns, on their mission bent, 
 The}" leap athwart the storm-cloud which is rent 
 
12 NIAGARA FALLS— A POEM. 
 
 In twain from top to bottom ! What a crash ! 
 The winds lamenting, howl, thy billows dash 
 With unabated fury, might, and force. 
 And all the storms can never change their course. 
 
 The " Storm-God's " bosom, now aflame with rage. 
 Heaves with vindictive wrath, and yet would Avage 
 This war, to rob thee of thy glittering crown. 
 And with his flaming sword, flies swiftly down, 
 
 And strikes thy rocky sides, which still defy 
 His force of elements, in earth or sky ; 
 The vivid flash, and then the mirky gloom. 
 Alternate act their part, and then give room 
 
 To rushing torrents, and the wind's loud blast. 
 And boiling clouds in volumes dense and vast. 
 Like doom itself, now settling o'er thy fiill. 
 But through the din I hear thy voice call 
 
 New energies, the storm unwitting lends ; 
 The victory thou dost gain, the conflict ends. 
 Thy bulwarks grounded on foundations deep 
 Shall last, long after storms are lulled to sleep. 
 
 Thou emblem of eternal budding youth, 
 Thou dost reveal an ample page of truth. 
 In characters indellible and bold, 
 Which on the human heart take lasting hold. 
 
 Dost tell of power supreme that holds its sAvay, 
 
 Of power that made the world, that marked thy way, 
 
 That over all the universe presides, 
 
 The weal of this, the woe Avhich that betides. 
 
 Thou liquid world of wealth, exhaustless mine ; 
 World of romance and poesy divine, 
 I kneel me down upon thy spraj^beat sod, 
 And through thy mist look up to nature's God. 
 
NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 13 
 
 0, thou Eternal, set my heart atune, 
 
 And let me praise thee — with thee now commune ; 
 
 My soul instill with love, devotion, free. 
 
 And while I humbly bow, will worship thee. . 
 
 Would give thee thanks for all thou hast bestoAved, 
 To give me zeal, to prompt me on the road 
 That leads to thee, and thy eternal rest, 
 In habitations for the sainted blest. 
 
 Thy golden chain to which this world is moored, 
 Let down from heaven, the upper end secured 
 To battlements, o'er which the angels bend, 
 Some coming doAvn, while others yet ascend, 
 
 Would give me hope that thou art mindful still. 
 Of all, who bow submissive to thy will; 
 Would create deathless love within the shrine 
 Of every heart. For this, the praise be thine. 
 
 The spirit essence of this watery realm 
 Is felt by all, yea seems to overAvhelm ! 
 A mystic union with a nobler sphere, 
 Which has a title page, an index here, 
 
 Now pointing to a volume yet unread. 
 Fit food for angels and the ransomed dead. 
 The preface even makes me stand aghast ! 
 Here ou the threshold problems deep and vast 
 
 Rise for solution, to the wondering mind, 
 Fields unexplored, with hidden truths to find; 
 0, that I had thy universal ke}^ 
 To turn the lock, and solve the mystery. 
 
 These things are thine, thy power did impart 
 The genial breath, that sprung the throbbing heart 
 Of universal being, which propels 
 The current on from nature's living: wells. 
 
i4 NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 
 
 This stream is fed by deep, wide-spreading lakes 
 Like inland seas, such breadth their surface takes; 
 While on their bosoms, driven by the breeze, 
 A thousand white-winged freighted argosies 
 
 Are borne from shore, to shore, with blessings rife, 
 
 Fit ministrations to the wants of life : 
 
 All given by thy lavish hand; so then, 
 
 For these, I thank thee, praise thee ; now, amen. 
 
 Niagara, what a destiny in store 
 For thee awaits, wdien time shall be no more ! 
 When heaven and earth are weary-worn with age. 
 And time grows sick of acting on the stage ; 
 
 His car no longer moves, but stopping all 
 
 Bows his adieu, and lets the curtain fall ; 
 
 The sun in sackcloth then, will liide his face. 
 
 And stars come falling througli the realms of space; 
 
 The moon put out her light, and turn to blood, 
 And Gabriel hasten from the courts of God, 
 With trumpet sounding through the universe, 
 A prelude to the words he will rehearse, 
 
 "That time which w^as and is shall be no more," 
 While billions bursting from the tombs of 3'ore, 
 With earth's yet living millions, will arise 
 To meet Jehovah, in the flaming skies ; 
 
 Who, with a shout triumphant and aloud. 
 Descending in the glory of a cloud ; 
 A countless host of angels in his train, 
 The subjects of his everlasting reign, 
 
 AVill come to judge the world in righteousness, 
 The bad to curse, the good to own and bless. 
 When "wreck of matter and the crash of Avorlds" 
 Are seen and heard, and fire around them curls 
 
NIAGARA FALLS — A POEM. 15 
 
 In tongues of flame, all matter to consume, 
 And thus fulfills their long predicted doom ; 
 Then sound the dirge Niagara, unto them ! 
 The knell of time its solemn requiem ! 
 
 This be thy destin}^ then act it well. 
 
 And let thy final notes still louder swell. 
 
 Expressive of expiring nature's throes 
 
 In that dread day, and then thy reign will close. 
 
 I now must break the spell that binds me hercf 
 And bid adieu to all th}' scenes so dear ; 
 I can not longer stay, it makes me sigh 
 To took on thee my last to say good-bye. 
 
Ml" "rieii* T'Q Tmm w^t^^i 
 
 Kind reader, I have attempted in poetic measure 
 to portray some of the bohl and striking outlines of 
 this prodig}^ of nature, and though it may be impos- 
 sible for any pen, with minutest detail, to do justice 
 to the overpowering magnificence of the scene, yet I 
 hope your perusal of ni}' poem has not been void of 
 interest, but that you have found enough to entertain 
 for a few leisure moments. If, in drawing this pen- 
 picture, I have succeeded in conveying an}^ thing like 
 a correct idea of the grand reality, I know^ its impress 
 will be left on your heart, and in its contemplation 
 you will drink in the outgushing essence from nature's 
 own pure laborator}^ 
 
 Niagara ! There is but one ! It exists alone in its 
 OAvn regal grandeur, eloquent and vocal with praises 
 to its own divine architect. I know that nature hath 
 other scenes in her ramified developments that stand 
 out boldly in the world's broad arena, that claim the 
 admiration of man. 
 
 Thibet can boast of her Chumularee, or Dhawala- 
 Giri, that towers to the height of twent^^-nine thou- 
 sand feet, or five and a half miles high, which stands 
 w^ithout a peer in mountain altitude ; wdiose crest is 
 glazed with the crystalized frostwork of scores of 
 
18 MY VISIT TO THE FALLS. 
 
 centuries, and looms up in sullen grandeur above 
 earth's meaner things. But then there is a dead 
 silence that reigns supreme that oppresses ones' 
 spirits, and he feels a relief when he leaves the lofty 
 monarch alone to seek other scenes in a more con- 
 genial sphere. Bolivia has her Sorata, of almost 
 equal fame, and Equador her Cotopaxi, whose liquid 
 fires shake the earth ; the United States of America 
 her AUeghanies on the east, and her Rock}^ and 
 Sierra Nevada mountains on the west; all of which 
 are grand ranges, and are clothed with a peculiar 
 majesty inseperable with themselves, and I love them 
 all. The Tropics have their ceaseless vernal ; their 
 fruits and flowers of perenial duration and gorgeous 
 hues ; their roseate plumaged birds of sweetest song ; 
 their broad rivers and wealth of mines of gold and 
 precious gems, and these I love ; and the Polar frozen 
 zones vestured in the pure habiliments of virgin 
 snow, crowned with the glittering icebergs, flashing 
 like ten thousand chandeliers, where hyperborean 
 blasts forever howl like funeral wails — these have 
 their beauties too ! I love them all! But Niagara 
 has his bow, woven warp and Avoof, of sunlight's 
 shimmering ray, dyed in prismatic colors, and bathed 
 in the pure spray of heaven's distillation. 
 
 Quivering with impulsive life, rising in majestic 
 waves, dashing into snowy foam, with a mighty bound, 
 clears all barriers and obstructions, and in a voice of 
 triumph, full of sjmiphony and cadence grand, rolls 
 his chorus to heaven's blazoned arch ! 
 
 I left my residence, in the pleasant little city of 
 Paris, Tennessee, on the evening train July 14th, 
 
MY VISIT TO THE FALLS. 19 
 
 1873, passing through the cities of Louisville, Ken- 
 tucky, Cincinnati, Ohio, on to Cleveland, Ohio, where 
 I had quite a refreshing view of Lake Erie ; and from 
 there all the way to Buffalo, New York, its blue ex- 
 panse of fresh waters spread out in the dim distance, 
 lending a most enchanting view. I there took a 
 branch of the New York Central Railroad, and, after 
 a ride of twenty-one miles north, arrived at the depot 
 contiguous to the town of Niagara. 
 
 Although I had frequently caught a glimpse of 
 Niagara river on the way, which in some places is 
 three miles wide, yet the falls from the depot could not 
 be seen; and as the sun was just now setting, I found 
 I would have to defer a visit to them till morning. 
 
 It was well enough, I suppose, as I was worried 
 out with travel. I put up at the Cataract House, a 
 magnificently appointed hotel (and I understand the 
 place can boast of several, first-class, among them 
 the Clifton and International), and after partaking 
 of refreshments and a good nights' rest, Avoke up to 
 hear the roar of the falling waters. After breakfast 
 I sallied forth from the hotel, thinking I would walk 
 the rounds to the different points of interest, but was 
 accosted on the verandah by a gentleman, who kindly 
 insisted on me taking a carriage and driver, who 
 would conduct me safely through the meanderings. 
 The programme was to visit points of lesser interest 
 first, and draw up to the grand culminating point 
 last — the Falls themselves. So I engaged a splendid 
 carriage, a fine span of horses and driver, and told 
 him to roll out. 
 
20 MY VISIT TO THE FALLS. 
 
 We made for the Whirlpool Rapids first, which are 
 three miles below the Falls. I got out here, and 
 after paying ni}^ entree of fift}^ cents to a lady who 
 keeps the door to the entrance, was directed b}^ her 
 to the stairway Avinding down three hundred and 
 fifty feet to the water. The river, from the Falls to 
 this point, has a fall of sixty-four feet, and makes a 
 sudden turn at right angles, which causes the whirl- 
 pool. 
 
 This is a grand spectacle. Thousands of waves at 
 once leaping into the air, and bursting into whitest 
 foam, come rushing into this mighty maelstrom, 
 which makes the head gidd}^ with its Avhirling motion. 
 I stood on a huge boulder and watched it for nearly 
 an hour. It would swallow up great rafts of drift- 
 wood, which Avould disappear for a few minutes, and 
 then be disgorged to eddy round and be swallowed 
 up again. The frowning clifts, three hundred and 
 fifty feet above j^our head, the roaring waters, and the 
 lashing waves, are perfectl}^ overpowering. 
 
 The great international suspension bridge is one 
 mile above the whirlpool, spanning eight hundred 
 feet from shore to shore, at a hight of two hundred 
 and thirt}" feet above the wildest stream on the globe. 
 I stopped, and went down to the water's edge to get 
 a view from below, which I considered well worth the 
 time and labor, in descending, and ascending the 
 stairway. 
 
 It is a crowning achievement to the art of man, 
 and shows the inventive genius of the age in which 
 we live. Buggies can cross on it as well as trains ; 
 so after spending half an hour here, we passed over 
 
MY VISIT TO THE FALLS. 21 
 
 to the Canada side. From here I had a general view 
 of the Falls two miles above, which burst upon my 
 sight like a scene of enchantment. 
 
 Let the reader imagine five broad lakes, whose 
 combined surfaces aggregate one hundred and thirty 
 thousand, seven hundred and forty square miles, Avith 
 an average depth of four hundred and ninety-six feet, 
 emptying themselves through this narrow channel, 
 plunging over a precipice one hundred and sixty-four 
 feet high, in a semi-circular form, three-quarters of 
 a mile in width, and he Avill have some idea of the 
 overAvhelming magnifficence of the scene. 
 
 Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan, St. Clair, and 
 Erie find an outlet here, and drain a country of over 
 one hundred and fifty thousand square miles. No 
 other rivers on the globe convey the same amount of 
 Avater, unless it is the Mississippi or Amazon. 
 
 We drcAv up to the museum close to the Falls, and 
 I got out to make preparations for a descent to their 
 base. My driver directed me to a room in the mu- 
 seum, and I availed myself of a good suit of rubber 
 and heaA^y felt slippers, kept ready for visitors. A 
 guide noAv conducted me doAvn to the brink of the 
 vortex beloAY, to a point called Termination Rock, 
 Avhere one can Avalk under the cataract fifty feet. 
 HoAV indiscribably grand a\ as the scene as I lifted my 
 eyes to the overleaping torrents above ! The heart 
 is deeply im2)ressed Avith this Avonderful display of 
 God Almighty's poAver, and stamped Avith a glorious 
 image that time can never efface. 
 
 To view from this point, it seems as though celes- 
 tial rivers had burst the golden shores of Elysia, and 
 
22 MY VISIT TO THE FALLS. 
 
 floods of glory were showered from heaven's em- 
 pyrean arch. 
 
 The tenfold thunders awful crash, 
 The sea of foam at your feet, 
 The play of the quivering sunbeam 
 On Isiagara's ample sheet. 
 Impress the soul with religious awe 
 As you gaze at the crystal flood ; 
 And as you drink their glories in, 
 You give the praise to God. 
 
 I staid half an hour, walking round over the slip- 
 pary rocks and out under the stream as far as I could 
 without being washed away, and having seen all 1 
 could, left this point for new adventures. 
 
 I re-dressed at the museum, and by paying a quarter 
 of a dollar had access to its spacious halls, containing 
 rare specimens of nature and art, things antique and 
 modern, of which it Avould take a large volume to 
 explain. Canada ought to be proud of the collection. 
 Visitors who wish to secure some memento of their 
 visit to the place, may find a very acceptable one in 
 a picture of themselves, with the Falls in the back- 
 ground. I had mine taken this way. 
 
 We now crossed over the new suspension bridge, 
 which is about one-quarter of a mile below the Falls, 
 to the United States, and I visited Chapin Islahd, 
 Goat Island, Luna Island, Three Sister Islands, and 
 got different views of the American and Horseshoe 
 Falls, and the rapids above. At Luna Island, at the 
 time of full moon, can be seen a lunar bow resplen- 
 dent with unearthly beauty, at night. On Goat Island, 
 which is the largest of the group, containing about 
 seventy acres, is astairway leading down to the Cave 
 
MY VISIT TO THE FALLS. 23 
 
 of the Winds. Here I again changed dress, and with 
 my guide went down Biddle stairs to the foot of the 
 American Falls. We walked on a narrow banistered 
 footway, that wound round and over the rocks through 
 the beating spray, till we reached the entrance to the 
 cave. After resting a few minutes, we advanced into 
 this wonderful cave. It is one hundred feet long, 
 sixty feet wide, and one hundred feet high. The 
 water falls here, one hundred and sixty-four feet. 
 There is a continual storm raging in this cave. It 
 sweeps like a hurricane round the humid vault, sigh- 
 ing and moaning like a thing of life, wrapping you 
 in its spray, and dashing the pearly drops, borne on 
 its fleet wings, from the plunging cataract above. 
 The rushing of the wind, the " voice of many waters," 
 swelling in a grand chorus loud as tenfold thunder's 
 awful boom, the heaving billows of snowy foam, and 
 heaven tinted rainbows in complete circles playing 
 at you feet — one, two, and sometimes three at once 
 — make it a spectacle so indiscribably grand and im- 
 posing that words can not express it. In mute awe 
 I clung to the rocks beholding, while my heart 
 swelled with the deepest emotions. 
 
 Reader, you can only appreciate it in full when you 
 see for yourself. We made our way back to the 
 dressing room, and after I got on my own garb, I took 
 a general view from difierent points in the vicinity, 
 and bid farewell to Niagara Falls. And now, gentle 
 reader, let me bid you farewell. If it is ever in your 
 power, go, and feast your eyes and soul on its un- 
 equaled grandeur, and you will never regret it. 
 Farewell. 
 
LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 R. A. 
 
 018 604 230 n • 
 
 South side of Public Square, 
 
 Where all Styles of Photographs 
 
 Are taken, small or life size. Enlargements from small 
 
 GEMS OR PHOTOGRAPHS 
 
 Made to any size required. Prices ranging from three to five, 
 to seven, to ten, to twelve and a half, to fifteen, to seventeen, to 
 twenty dollars, for pictures taken from one-half to life size. 
 
 Send by mail to his address, box 33, or by express with full 
 directions, and he will execute your order in the finest style of 
 the art. Please give color of hair, eyes, and complexion. 
 Money must be sent by post-office money order, or by express. 
 Orders solicited from all parts of the United States, and satis- 
 faction guaranteed. He also keeps elegant 
 
 Of richest tone and deepest compass, of splendid finish, together 
 with 
 
 GUITARS, VIOLINS, BANJOES, ACCORDIONS, 
 
 And a variety of other instruments for sale, very cheap, for 
 cash. PIANOS bought directly from factory in New York, 
 and sold at from $800, to $400, to $500. 
 Don't fail to call and see him, or address 
 
 R. A. WADE, 
 
 Box 33, Paris, Tenn.