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Show THE ROYAL GORGE. 263 rocky bed, until again soothed to rest in a broad, open park. The prospect becomes more and more sublime until the Royal Gorge is reached, where the towering rocks, thousands of feet above us, bend their heads together like the fabled Symplegades through which the Argonauts passed in their search for the Golden Fleece. Our hearts seemed to sink and almost stop beating while contemplating this chasm, the supremest possible ideal of awe-inspiring grandeur. We can not see the face of God and live, but we can look upon his creation, learn of him, believe and tremble. Soon we are whirled from this deep wrinkle in the dread frown of nature to the broad, smiling prairies. Earth, from the loftiest mountain tops and deepest valleys, the flowers that blossom over its wide plains, the stars that twinkle in the heavens, the elements that speak in thunder tones, or sigh in the gentle zephyrs, bids man join in the glad anthem: "The hand that made us is divine." Canon City, called the Gate City of the Rocky Mountains, and the "garden spot of Colorado," certainly makes excellent provision for tourists and-convicts. The Penitentiary, which is located here, surpasses any I have ever seen in the perfection of all its parts, and the accommodations of the McClure House were elegant. We were furnished a private parlor without extra charge, which is something unique in a traveler's experience. Hearing a boy on the street sing out something, which was not distinctly audible, I put my head out of the window and called " paper." The little urchin looked up and said, "soda water, lady; have a glass? only five cents." These little urchins are as vociferous in presenting their |
