a.=

_Delaware and Hudson Railway._

A pleasant tour awaits the traveler who continues his journey north
from Albany, where the _Delaware and Hudson_ train for Saratoga is
ready at the landing on the arrival of the steamer. A half hour's run
along the west bank gives us a glimpse of Troy across the river with
the classical named hills Mount Ida and Mount Olympus. Two streams,
the Poestenkill and the Wynant's Kill, approach the river on the east
bank through narrow ravines, and furnish excellent water power. In the
year 1786 it was called Ferryhook. In 1787, Rensselaerwyck. In the
fall of 1787 the settlers began to use the name of Vanderheyden, after
the family who owned a great part of the ground where the city now
stands. January 9, 1789 the freeholders of the town met and gave it
the name of Troy. The "Hudson," the "Erie," and the "Champlain" Canals
have contributed to its growth. The city, with many busy towns, which
have sprung up around it--Cohoes, Lansingburg, Waterford, etc., is
central to a population of at least 100,000 people. The Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, the oldest engineering school in America, has a
national reputation.

=Cohoes=, where the Mohawk joins the Hudson, has one of the finest
water powers in the country. Its name is of Indian origin and
signifies "the island at the falls." This was the division line
between the Mahicans and the Mohawks, and when the water is in full
force it suggests in graceful curve and sweep a miniature Niagara. The
view from the double-truss iron bridge (960 feet in length), looking
up or down the Mohawk, is impressive.

* * *

Oh, be my falls as bright as thine!
May heaven's relenting rainbow shine
Upon the mist that circles me,
As soft as now it hangs o'er thee!

_Thomas Moore._

* * *

Passing through Waterford, and Mechanicville which lies partly in the
township of Stillwater, with its historic records of Bemis Heights and
burial place of Ellsworth, the first martyr of the Civil war, we come
to--

=Round Lake=, nineteen miles north of Troy, and thirteen south
of Saratoga, near a beautiful sheet of water, three miles in
circumference, called by the Indians Ta-nen-da-ho-wa, which
interpreted, signifies Round Lake. The camp-meeting and assembly
grounds consist of 200 acres. The air is pure and invigorating and the
grove and cottages inviting. The drives in the vicinity are delightful
to Saratoga Lake, to the Hudson River, to