ocean, through which the projecting peaks and summits of mountains looked like clusters of islands. The whole scene was novel and interesting in the highest degree. But we soon had to descend, and were immersed in fog and vapour, and shut out from the pleasant light of the sun for nearly half the day. The next mountain, however, raised us above these low clouds, and presented us with a view of the clear and unveiled sky.
Making a journey of twenty-eight miles this day, we arrived at Martin's, by the crossings of the Juniata, and put up for the night.
Friday, June 17
Passing the Sideling Hills, we reach McConnel's town, a delightful, {71} well-watered village in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, to dine. It is situated in the valley, or, as it is called "the Cove," between Sideling and North Mountain. It has been built eight years; contains about eighty houses, several of them handsomely built with brick or stone, a number of stores and shops, and a small Dutch meeting-house.
Quitting this sequestered place, we ascended the North Mountain, and enjoyed from its top a variegated and magnificent prospect. Deep below we saw the town and beautiful vale we had passed, with the meandering stream which runs through it. Scattered houses, and rich cultivated farms, formed an interesting contrast with the rugged mountains with which they were environed. On the north and west the prospect is circumscribed by ranges of mountains; but on the east and south a prodigious expanse of country is laid open to the eye, and the senses are almost bewildered in contemplating the vastness of the scene.
