Ellsworth American

-The following appreciative notice of
Mt. Desert and Bar Harbor, has been
handed us for publication.

LYSAM COTTAGE
BAR
HARBOR, MOUNT DESERT,
August 6th, 1877.

By all accounts, not only Philadelphians, but
visitors at all the Jersey seaside resorts are,
and have been for some weeks, suffering from
excessive heat. To a sojourner at this favored
spot, this intelligence is almost incredible. Last
week, when the thermometer with you ranged
between ninety and one hundred degrees, we
found a blazing birch-wood fire in our large
open fireplace not only very cheerful to look at,
but absolutely essential to comfort. To be sure
there was rain and fog at that time, but even in
the clearest weather, I have experienced no
unpleasant degree of heat here, so that if Mt.
Desert had no other attractions, its climate
alone would be more than sufficient for those
who wish to escape from the stifling atmosphere
of cities. It would be useless to attempt to
describe the innumerable charms of the Island,
I can merely glance at them, and I must
confess that greatly as they have been praised,
and often as I have heard artists rave about
them, the half has not been told or reproduced
by the pencil of the most gifted among them.
Many persons are under the impression that,
like the summit of Mt. Washington, a veil of
mist almost perpetually conceals its beauties.
But this is a mistake. It is not more subject to
this condition than Newport, or Narragansett
Pier, or any of the beaches along the coast.
One frets more, however, because the prospects
it hides are so immeasurably finer than those
at any other summer resort in this country. In-
deed, such a combination of ocean and mountain
scenery is not to be found on this side of
the Atlantic.

Then, people who come here seem to have
some conception of the nature of rational enjoy-
ment. They pass their days in the open air.
They drive, they walk (dispensing with fash-
ionable trained costumes) they row. Parties of
ten or a dozen ladies and gentlemen, alpen
stocks in hand, the ladies in prettily trimmed
flannel dresses, short enough to show the small,
well-formed feet characteristic of American
ladies, but clad in thick walking boots, and the
young men in casually sensible attire, are con-
stantly passing as they wend their way to dif-
ferent points of interest in the mountains. Their
step is elastic, their cheeks browned yet rosy
with health, and their ringing, happy voices are
indicative of their thorough appreciation of their
temporary release from the arbitrary restraints
laid upon them by "society" during the rest of
the year.

The immediate proximity of the mountains
to the ocean gives you many a pleasant sur-
prise. You are driving through dense woods,
and feeling as though you were hundreds of
miles from the sea-coast, and inhaling at every
breath the aromatic perfume of pines and ever-
greens. You turn and look back and below
you and lo! within what seems a stone's throw,
the blue waves are dancing and glittering in
the sunlight, and far away in the hazy distance
are the rocky coasts of Maine, and the harbor
Islands. The air is so invigorating that we
walk without fatigue distances that would
seem impossible at home. The trip to
Eagle Lake is a very favorite one for pedes-
trians. One comes suddenly upon this beauti-
ful sheet of water on emerging from the for-
est. It is probably two miles in length, but
narrow, about as far above the foot of Green
Mountain, and is embosomed in and surrounded
by hills covered to its edge with verdure.
There are row boats which ladies can manage
with perfect safety. I can merely allude to the
variety and extent of the magnificent panorama
to be seen from the summit of Green Mountain
- the towers of Otter Cliff, the rugged mass of
The Devil's Back, and the curious Scouting
Horn and Schooner Head. They are all full of
that interest to any who has hitherto known
only our dull shores.

After spending many delightful hours of
the day in the woods, or clubs riding or on
paths to reach the most picturesque points of
view, we turn with willing feet for the hotel,
where a large number of "trunks" are at the
station waiting for their lessees. The sun is
stationary off from the west and the throng of
laughing, chatting crew all waiting very for
their les - the salt air purples the distant
sails - one feels the truth of the thought so
often used in describing them - colors are so
wonderfully rich that one almost expects to
see sapphires dropping into the oars as they
rise from the glowing waters, my glazing there
is one eel to a world far from the south of
sealn whistle and the factory to the joy empty
and stub Possible w a broad th on when the
holy sat porlet It. whi the imagination
faculties are most keenly a its the varied
motions wood n u ay ba tur's hadd wurk W
lass aroi an y choe tathr trpndular di. ah
the sas tef Bd Porupine bo ow cae Frmst's
Island, but as we turn homeward we find that
a pretty stiff breeze has arisen and is likely to
make our progress a good deal slower. The
waves are higher and our little boat tosses about
like an eggshell The day draws to a close The
water is still dotted with boats ca chas and the
white sails madly ai The moon is rising in
cloudy beauty as the golden day is transformed
into silver How can we leave this exquisite
vision of nature - But soon the twinkling lights
from the picturesque cottages, which are
stretched along the great Bar Harbor and which
seem hes in the shelter of their grand mountain
back ground, admonish us that our time is up
The Indian village Is illuminated by the blaze
of our evening fires. and the effect of the var-
ied lights below with the frowning aspect of
the everlasting hills whose outlines are clearly
marked against the evening sky. is inexpress-
ibly beautiful and impressive.

But, to come back to terra firma and its
more practical suggestions. And first of the
company here, which is exceptionally free
from the coarse and obtrusive element which
is to be found more or less at all watering
places. This one is too remote from large
cities, too difficult of access, and the journey
too costly to tempt that large class of plea-
sure seekers who, in leaving their homes for a few
weeks' recreation, seek rather the new faces
and the social gaiety of the crowded hotel.
than the pure air, the exhilarating exercise,
the early hours and healthy sleep of a place
like Mt. Desert. I am told that nearly one
half of the visitors here are from Philadelphia,
while the remainder are pretty fairly divided
between New York and Boston - most of them
from the best and most cultivated classes.
Bar Harbor contains several big hotels, the
largest being the Grand Central, and Rodick,
and the Atlantic House, while at many of the
smaller houses, such as this one, which is un-
exceptionable in every respect, one finds al-
most the comforts of home-life. Of course, I
cannot tell you all, nor half, that can be said
about Mt. Desert, in one letter, and as I fear
I have already exceeded the usual limits, I
will close at once.

M.P.G.