of the Gods." It may be at first supposed that this is a mere fancy name, but it is no such thing. It is a solemn name, bestowed with all the awe belonging to the worship of the Unknown. These words are a translation of the superstitious or religious title given to their sanctuary by the Ute Indians; and I must confess they seem to me to have proved themselves true poets when they chose the scene and gave the name.

Impressed with all these associations, founded on information given me on the spot, and banishing, as far as possible, all mere travellers' curiosity, I hired an open one-horse carriage and sat myself by the owner's side, a Manitou man and a Manitou proclaimer, who would fain have persuaded me, in the usual style, to stay and see everything; but I have long since come to know that the exhaustive is exhausting. At the same time, if some grand object is exhausting, nevertheless, try and accomplish it, for it is galling enough to find yourself far away at home again, and "wishing you had done it."

This "Garden of the Gods" is a strange district, of which the dimensions are given as of about five hundred acres, hemmed in by Nature almost in a manner that might suggest that development of her called Art, with mountains and ravines separating it from outside scenery; and its surprising features consist of a large undulating meadow-ground, ornamented in an almost confusing manner with isolated upright rocks, all towering, and some rising to three

hundred and fifty feet. These rocks are not of dull granite, but they are of sandstone, and they display as much colouring as that material can so abundantly afford. As you bid your driver walk slowly through the strangely captivating scene, you may allow yourself to become completely rapt by your surroundings, and be brought to confess that here old superstitions were, at the least, as poetical as the new. The scenery culminated till the last, as we went out by what is called The Gate, consisting of two tremendous natural pylons of every colour.

"Why did you not bring me in this way?" I impatiently asked.

"Some do prefer this way," was the only answer.

How much is often lost by taking objects at the reverse! May I not add, how few appreciate the difference!

On turning round to look back upon what should at first have struck my astonished sight, I beheld a grand perspective view of the whole scene, backed by middle-distance mountains, over all of which rose Pike's Peak, yet farther still beyond; while, in the Garden, on my left, there ran a long, broad, undulating, rising line of grass, strangely bordered by integral rocks, and presenting, paradoxically, a not remote image of the gigantic ruins of some pre-historic gigantic cathedral. Well, the reverse course of my drive had, at all events, this good result; my chief impression was my last. Still, my advice to all would be, "Enter by the Gate."

7

My drive was a round one, so we continued our course, and again one small advantage of the direction we had taken turned up in the shape of a house where something could be got for sustaining the flesh, now somewhat exhausted by the spirit, whatever that may be. So we pulled up at this somewhat rare style of house in these quarters, and, among other things, I asked for a bottle of Milwaukee lager beer-the best sort in all the States. Oh yes! they had some; but the girl who had said this brought me St. Louis beer, one more in vogue, as I believe.

They had no other, in truth, so I took it. She was an intelligent American young lady, and as I paid her, and was going, she looked very quietly at me, and said, "Are you folk from Milwaukee?"

On my return to the hotel, it was already time to prepare for starting on the "balance" of my journey of 3600 miles from Frisco to Albany, through Chicago. I choose the word "balance" here, as it is a familiar American phrase. At one of our railway meals I heard it used curiously. I had helped some one to a piece of meat-pie; but in doing so, the piece of crust I had cut off broke, and part of it fell back. When the plate was handed to him, he held it out again, and said, "I'll ask you for a little more gravy, if you please, and the balance of that crust." It is not every balance that can so readily be satisfied, and I confess that I felt the "balance" of my journey to be quite as large a one as I cared to have to pay, for it was likely to prove but a very uninteresting one.