have all gone to decay. Near the Hillside Home, a summer resort kept by Edwin Knight, on said brook, are the Hughson falls, a cascade in which the water leaps down over a succession of irregular steps some seventyfive or eighty feet. In time of high water a spectacle is presented truly grand and imposing. Of late years, Lisbon, on account of its proximity to the mountains, its pure air, and delightful scenery, has become famous as a summer resort. To meet the increasing demand, commodious structures have been reared, specially fitted for the convenience and comfort of the guests, so that within their walls the pleasure-seeker, the invalid, or the care-worn business man truly may find a home. First comes to notice the Sunset Hill House, built in the year 1879, by Haskin & Bowles, under whose management it has attained its present popularity. Its table is supplied with all the substantials and luxuries procured in the markets and farm-houses, and its arrangements throughout are those of a first-class establishment. Being of peculiar architecture, and domeless, with colors flying from a flagstaff, its appearance from a distance is suggestive of a fortress rather than the abode of peace and pleasure. The house is located near the village of Sugar Hill, on a small plateau elevated nearly two thousand feet above sea level. No spot in the mountain region is more lovely, or abounds in more picturesque and romantic scenery. To the east, on the opposite side of a deep valley, are the mountains, so bold, so huge, so rugged and magnificent. The whole range rises to view, from Mount Washington to Kinsman, from the sombre spruce in the foot-hills to the rocky cliffs in the clouds, altogether constituting a vast expanse of mountain side, endless forest, and rocky declivities. The tourist can here revel in scenes "which daily viewed, please daily, and whose novelty survives long knowledge and scrutiny of years." From day to day he can recline upon the veranda and contemplate these grand old mountains in all their varied phases. He can gaze upon these lofty summits, bleak and weird and desolate and silent, reposing in the glorious sunlight, or when the tempest bursts upon them in all its fury, and presses their rock-ribbed sides, searches every nook, and howls its mournful anthems through hollow caverns. Again he beholds them in the terrific grandeur of the storm, as angry clouds obscure their rough feattures, and the thunder peals with startling crash and the lightning flashes through the gloom. From the Sunset Hill House, westward, the scene presented to the vision, if less romantic, is more lovely and attractive; nature unrolls a panorama peculiarly her own, embracing all the beauties of the landscape. Over the variegated expanse, far away, are seen the smoky forms of the Green Mountains; farther south appears hill beyond hill, till in the dim distance the view is lost. This house usually remains open into October, affording opportunity for lovers of nature to linger, and behold the ubiquitous forest tinted with all the gorgeous hues of autumn, and the mountain-tops white with snow. One mile north of the Sunset Hill are the Goodnough and Phillips houses. The former is kept by the proprietors, Goodnough & Peckett, and accommodates three hundred guests; and the latter, by W. E. Phillips, lodges one hundred. These houses are first-class in every respect, and are popular, as is proved by the liberal patronage they receive. Except the view westward, the scenery does not differ materially from that of the house last mentioned. The Goodnough was the first large boarding-house erected in Lisbon, and its success has encouraged the building of others. It is a fact worthy of mention, and one that speaks well for the house, that quite a proportion of the boarders return from year to year. The Phillips is a new house, of handsome appearance and pleasant surroundings, and makes its début under favorable auspices. The Breezy Hill House, C. H. Jesseman proprietor, occupies a commanding elevation one mile east of the Ammonoosuc river, and three miles north-east of Lisbon village: one hundred guests find accommodations at this place. The house was built in 1883, and was opened for the first time the present year (1884). As seen from points below, one is impressed with the idea of its stateliness and symmetry; a near approach but confirms the impression. Neither pains nor expense has been spared to render this place attractive and worthy of patronage. Nature, too, hath vouchsafed to lend a helping hand. The view of Mount Lafayette and contiguous peaks is superb. The Ammonoosuc valley, an extensive agricultural district, the Lyman hills, and Gardner's mountain, greet the vision to the westward. In a neighboring ravine flows a purling brook, with woodland pools, where sport diminutive specimens of the finny tribe. Near at hand are rocky hillocks, and groves of primeval forests with sylvan retreats, where the denizen of the crowded city may ramble in seclusion and hold communion with nature. The success which has attended the efforts of the proprietor thus far augurs favorably for the future prospects of the Breezy Hill House. Besides the larger houses, there are numerous small establishments, which are yearly thronged with boarders. Some of these are the Hillside Home, Elm House, Bluff House, Echo Farm House, Elm Farm House, Grand View Cottage, Woodland Cottage, Cedar Cottage, Sugar Hill House, and Mapleside. Previous to the year 1800 iron ore of a fine quality was discovered on a high ridge in the south-eastern part of the town. At an early day works were established on a small scale for the manufacture of iron. The business proving quite lucrative, in the year 1810 capitalists from "below" formed a company known as the "N. H. Iron Factory Co." At Franconia village, the nearest water-privilege, a furnace was erected, and other buildings, provided with all the necessary fixtures for manufacturing iron and casting various vessels and implements. The business thrived in accordance with the expectations of the stockholders, and for a succession of years the net profits of the company averaged $30,000 per annum. The company continued to prosper until improved means of transportation brought their products quantities, and this doubt established and those from the mines of Pennsyl- a principle of action among mining vania in competition. After being in operation thirty years, the furnace was closed, and work was not resumed until 1859; then other parties operated the mines for two or three years, and suspended; after which the buildings fell into decay, and finally in the year 1884 were consumed by fire. The supply of iron ore in the mines of Lisbon is still abundant, and supposed to be inexhaustible. Limestone is found in some parts of the town, and the manufacture of lime was formerly quite an industry. It is generally believed that Lisbon occupies the central point of the mineral region of New Hampshire. Within its limits, besides the iron mentioned above, are found gold, silver, lead, and copper. Whether or not any of these minerals will be found in paying quantities remains yet to be determined. A great mineral excitement occurred here in 1866, originating as follows: Prof. J. H. Allen, an adept at mining, discovered a specimen of free gold in quartz rock one mile east of Lisbon village. More specimens were found in the quartz in various places, not only in Lisbon, but also in the adjoining towns. Searching for gold led to the discovery of other minerals throughout a territory including several towns. Capitalists were forthcoming who prospected, made investments, erected mills for working the quartz, and, what was more, produced handsome bars of gold. Yet from the beginning grave doubts had existed among sober-minded men as to the probability of gold being found in paying men. The whole business drifted into speculation. A programme was soon adopted which each succeeding party followed to the letter. The course pursued was to bond a piece of land, sink a shaft of a few feet, make a good show, sometimes by bringing rock from another place, then sell out. The man that sold was always the lucky man. During the interval of ten years it is estimated a million and a half dollars was squandered in mining operations in Lisbon and vicinity, not, however, to the detriment of the town. Hotels and boarding-houses reaped a harvest, though sometimes losing a bill by some poor dupe who had been fleeced of all he possessed. Again: In some cases farmers were enabled to sell at fancy prices some sterile pasture, comparatively valueless. Lisbon, as before stated, is the central point of the mineral region; furthermore, it has been the headquarters of the mining men, and the place where much of the rock has been worked, yet within the limits of the town only one mine has been opened, that one being the so-called Atwood mine, located near the place where gold was first discovered. In relation to the mine, we quote from a mining record as follows: "The vein was dipping at a high angle to the north-west, and a shaft put down perpendicular 100 feet, passing the vein at depth of fifteen feet. Very many specimens of free gold were taken out, and the sulphurets were specially rich. Owing to bad management this mine was abandoned. I do not know of any attempt ever the bottom of the shaft by contract." being made to strike the vein from attractive hotel built by the citizens of the village, a modern iron bridge across the river, and neatness and thrift on every hand. All the facts in the case bear witness that the mineral resources of Lisbon have never been brought to a reasonable test. And now, when excitement gives place to rational deliberation, experienced mining men express the opinion that the quartz veins in Lisbon carry gold in quantities sufficient to pay for working, and that in the near future the spirit of speculation will subside, and there will spring up a profitable business. [Lisbon to-day is a charming little village nestling in the valley on the banks of the Ammonoosuc river. The people are wide-awake and enterprising, and use every endeavor to increase the business and improve the appearance of the village. This public spirit is shown not only in handsome private residences, but in a very During the year 1886 the village was permanently improved by the introduction of a never-failing watersupply from Mink pond or Pearl lake, distant two miles, and four hundred and fifty feet above the bridge. There is a head of two hundred and fifty feet, as water is obtained from the outlet of the lake, only a mile distant, and it is brought in an eightinch main. There are thirty-one hydrants. The water is very soft and pure. The water-works complete cost $21,000, and will eventually be under the control of the precinct. There is in the village a well-organized fire department, consisting of a board of engineers, a hose company, and a hook and ladder company.— EDITOR.] THE ANNULLING OF THE COMMISSION OF STEPHEN PEABODY. BY LEVI W. DODGE. In the January number of "The Granite Monthly" was published, by request of John Wentworth, a copy of the "Writ of Supersedeas" issued by the last royal governor of New Hampshire, just previous to his hasty flight from the country already grown too ardently democratic for the safe abode of royalty. The document was made to apply to the revoking of the commission of Stephen Peabody as coroner in the county of Hillsborough, New Hampshire, because it appears not to be consistent with Our Honor, and the good of Our Subjects of our said county, that the said Stephen Peabody should any longer be continued in the said office." The true inwardness of the repeal of this commission is found in the events of that period, and the history of the two men most immediately connected with the serving of the document, viz., the man whom it was designed to effect, and the sheriff of the county. obnoxious methods, odious deportment, and offensive utterances called for his examination by the Committee of Safety at Amherst in July, 1775. He was summoned, but did not appear, to answer the charges of "being inimical to the Rights and Liberties of the United Colonies," or, in other words, a tory; but he was found guilty, and shortly afterward he left the state and his family, and a few years thereafter died in exile. He was one of the illustrious seventy-six who were embraced in the "Act of Banishment" passed by the General Court in November, 1778. Whiting's property was confiscated, and he was forbidden to return to the country under penalty of transportation. Stephen Peabody was one of the Hollis, whose most ardent of patriots, and made himself heard and understood as arrayed with the lovers of liberty against the despotic exercise of the power of King George the III. Nor could he be bribed or kept silent by any appointment or commission under the king, and when the call for troops came to march for Bunker Hill, he was enrolled in the regiment of Col. James Reed, and was appointed its adjutant. In 1776 he was major in Col. Wyman's regiment, raised for the Canada expedition. At the Battle of Bennington he was upon the staff of Gen. Stark, and in the Rhode Island campaign of 1778 he was lieutenant colonel commanding in Gen. Whipple's brigade. Col. Peabody died in 1779, just in the midst of a most useful career. In his death the cause of the patriots lost one of its most able defenders. The undisguised political sentiments of Mr. Peabody during those pre-revolutionary movements would have been sufficient cause in the mind of the royal governor for the revok ing of any official commission in the hands of others than friends of the royal cause. But how did the ear of Gov. Wentworth catch the discordant utterings of his distant commissioned subordinates? The sheriff of the county was the notorious tory, Benjamin Whiting, of The two individuals thus noticed, both officers commissioned by the king, and brought often together in the discharge of their official duties,one an outspoken tory, and the other an ardent patriot, diverse in character, and socially and politically opposed; the one having the ear of the royal governor, and the other the confidence of the people, it is easily deducible how Gov. Wentworth should thus have concluded it "no longer consistent with Our Honor and the good of Our Subjects of our said. county that the said Stephen Peabody should any longer be continued in the said office." |