stirring, or more beautiful.

The hills rise abruptly

in steep angles from the stream, and present, for a distance of nearly twenty miles, a succession of bluff headlands or promontories, all, however, clothed with underwood from their base to their summits; and the ravines or valleys between them are as beautiful as the hills themselves. The windings

round the promontories present a series of lakes, in which the spectator seems land-locked, as the continuation of the river is not visible either above or below, from the overlapping or interlacing of the headlands of the one side with the projecting capes of the other. This is peculiarly the case at a spot called "the Horse Race," where the stream makes a bend, running nearly east and west, its general direction being north and south. The hills on either side approach closer to each other here, and

the contraction of the river's breadth, contrasted with the height of the overhanging hills which rise from 1,200 to 1,500 feet-higher than the highest peak of the rock of Gibraltar, and with almost as steep an angle of ascent-give the whole a very striking and imposing appearance.

Here, too, the recollections of the revolutionary war are preserved in the names of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton, which were captured from General Putnam by the British troops in 1777; and in the name of a sheet of water in the rear of Fort Clinton, called "Bloody Pond," from the crimson tinge given to its waters by the number of the slain thrown into it after the sanguinary battle and dreadful carnage, of which that fort was the scene.*

About half-past ten we arrived opposite to West Point, having performed the distance of fifty miles in about three hours and a half, making good the rate of fourteen miles an hour. The approach to this spot is highly interesting. On the west side of the Hudson, a promontory of moderate height, from 150 to 200 feet above the level of the river, projects into the stream, so as to require a sharp turn round its extremity to follow the course of the river on the other side. On the upper, or level part of this promontory, are placed the buildings of the Military Academy, at which all the cadets intended to form the officers of the United States army are educated;

A similar circumstance, as to the deep discoloration of the waters by the blood of the slain, is mentioned by Josephus in his History of the Wars of the Jews, after a great slaughter in a naval battle fought between them and the Romans on the Lake Tiberias.

and above these, on a commanding elevation of about 600 feet, are the ruins of Fort Putnam, one of the most impregnable of the American fortresses during the revolutionary war. The position of the fortress, and of the batteries on West Point, gave them a complete command of the river up and down, as far as the range of the cannon could extend; and every effort of the British, during eight years of warfare, to wrest them from the brave hands that defended both, were unsuccessful. Fort Putnam is dismantled and in ruins, there being no apparent necessity for such inland fortresses at present: and the policy and the interest of the country being pacific, centuries may elapse before they are ever required again.

The establishment at West Point is still, however, maintained with full efficiency, and the beauty, as well as the interesting nature of the spot, occasions it to be much frequented. To accommodate the large number of visiters here in the summer, a spacious and splendid hotel was built by the government, and leased out to a proper superintendent; but after a few years of trial, it became so attractive that it was thought injurious to the good discipline of the students to continue it; and, therefore, it was ordered to be shut up. The building still occupies its original position, and forms a fine object from the river, but it is quite untenanted at present.

I had letters of introduction to Colonel De Russey and Colonel Thayer, the officers in command at West Point, as I had originally intended to have passed a few days here; but my present debility rendered it imprudent to attempt it now. I therefore passed on, without landing, reserving my visit till

MONUMENT OF KOSCIUSKO.

24.5

another opportunity. We admired exceedingly, however, the beautiful appearance of the place, saw with pleasure the pillared monument erected to the memory of the brave Polish patriot, Kosciusko, who

resided here, and tilled with his own hands a quiet little garden, which he made his favourite retreat, and which is still carefully preserved; as well as an obelisk erected to the memory of General Brown, who was educated at West Point, and afterwards fell in the defence of Fort Erie, in the last short American war with the English, in 1814.

The termination of the Highland scenery is about six miles above West Point, where two frowning hills overhang the stream on either side; the one called Breakneck, and the other Butter Hill; and between these, in the centre of the river, rises a mass of rock, called Pollopel Island. The height of the overhang

ing hills is here also from 1,200 to 1,500 feet, and the scene is one of great grandeur and beauty.

Beyond this, the character of the landscape changes into a softer and more subdued style.

The river

again expands in breadth; the shores on either side are well cultivated in rising slopes, and studded with small villages, separate farm-houses, and private dwellings; while the incorporated town of Newburgh, just above the smaller village of New Windsor, displays itself on a commanding elevation and presents a striking appearance from the river. It is a rising and flourishing place of trade, containing already a population of about 10,000, annually on the increase. The buildings have all that newness and freshness of appearance which is so characteristic of American settlements; and being built chiefly of wood (though there are many fine stone