h most picturesque scenery. Near at hand
is the lake, and above it towers Wachusett. It has been proposed to run
a railroad up to and around the mountain, but thus far, fortunately,
nothing has come of it. A fine road of easy ascent winds up the
mountain, and on the summit is a good hotel which is annually patronized
by thousands of transient visitors.

The view from here is magnificent on a clear day. The misty blue of the
Atlantic, the silver thread of the Connecticut, Mounts Tom and Holyoke,
and cloud-clapped Monadnock, the cities of Worcester and Fitchburg--all
these and many other beautiful objects are spread out before the
spectator. But it cannot be described--it must be seen to be
appreciated; and the throngs of visitors that flit through the town
every summer afford abundant evidence that the love of the beautiful and
grand in nature still lives in the hearts of the people.

Brief is the sketch of this beautiful mountain town, which is neither
large nor possessed of very eventful history: but in its quiet seclusion
dwell peace and prosperity, and its worthy inhabitants are most deeply
attached to the beautiful heritage handed down to them by their
ancestors.

[Footnote 2: History of Worcester County. Worcester: 1793.]

* * * * *

WASHINGTON AND THE FLAG.

By Henry B. Carrington.

"Strike, strike! O Liberty, thy silver strings!"

NOTE--On a pavement slab in Brighton Chapel, Northamptonshire, England,
the Washington coat-of-arms appears: a bird rising from nest (coronet),
upon azure field with five-pointed stars, and parallel red-and-white
bands on field below; suggesting origin of the national escutcheon.

I.

Strike, strike! O Liberty, thy silver strings;
And fill with melody the clear blue sky!
Give swell to chorus full,--to gladness wings,
And let swift heralds with the tidings fly!
Faint not, nor tire, but glorify the record
Which honors him who gave the nation life;
Fill up the story, and with one accord
Our people hush their conflicts--end their strife!

II.

Tell me, ye people, why doth this appeal
Go forth in measure swift as it has force,
To quicken souls, and make the nation's weal
Advance, unfettered, in its onward course,
Unless that they who live in these our times
May grasp the grand, o'erwhelming thought,
That he who led our troops in battle-lines,
But our best interests ever sought!

III.