Franconia Notch.

From Bethlehem station, as previously mentioned, the Profile & Franconia Notch Railroad extends to this resort, which is one of the most popular in the White Mountain region. Its crowning attraction is the celebrated Profile, so widely known as “The Old Man of the Mountain.” This colossal copy of the human face is to be seen on the southern side of Profile Mountain, with bold and high forehead, straight nose, slightly parted mouth, and prominent chin. From forehead to chin, the face measures some eighty feet, and the elevation is some fifteen hundred feet above Profile Lake, which, from its location, is sometimes called “The Old Man’s Mirror,” and “The Old Man’s Washbowl.”

OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN.—DISTANT VIEW.

Profile House, an elegant and roomy hotel, with accommodations for five hundred guests, is not the least attractive feature of the neighborhood, its great popularity often filling it to overflowing, even before the railroad made it so easy of access. Messrs. Taft & Greenleaf, the proprietors, are among the most successful hotel managers in all the region.

Mount Lafayette, the highest peak of the Franconian range, has an altitude of 5,259 feet, and the view from the summit is regarded as second only to that from Mount Washington. The ascent is made by bridle path from the Profile House, where horses, guides, etc., are to be found at the service of the tourist. A building at the summit affords shelter from inclement weather, or the severe winds which sometimes prevail at such an elevation.

EAGLE CLIFF.

EAGLE CLIFF.

Eagle Cliff, a huge crag, with precipitous front, towers up to the height of fifteen hundred feet, directly in front of the hotel. A pair of eagles made it their home for some years, until driven away by the curiosity of explorers. A fine view of the Cliff is to be had from Echo Lake, which nestles at its base, and is one of the most charming little bodies of water to be found. The blast of a horn, or the report of a small cannon, fired at intervals to “wake the echoes,” reverberates against the sides of the Cliff and the rocky walls which environ the lake, with a succession of sharp and distinct repetitions, growing fainter and fainter, and finally dying away among the far-off cliffs, with an effect as beautiful as it is surprising.

The Profile House stands at the gateway of the Notch, the approach being from the north. On either side of the gorge, the Franconia range extends in a southerly direction. Lafayette, Lincoln and Liberty on the east, Profile. Kinsman and Pemigewasset on the west, with several lesser peaks and spurs, the valley gradually descending to the south, and widening in the descent, until it expands into the Valley of the Pemigewasset.

Three miles from the Profile House, a path diverges from the road near a small brook, and a walk of half a mile brings to view a succession of picturesque waterfalls, which have received the name of Walker’s Falls. A half mile further south is the Basin, a curious granite reservoir, about forty feet across, and twenty-eight feet deep, in which the waters make a gyratory turn, after the whirlpool order.

NEAR VIEW OF THE PROFILE.

FRANCONIA MOUNTAINS, FROM PEMIGEWASSET VALLEY.

MOUNT LAFAYETTE.

Five miles from the Profile House, near the lower gateway of the Notch, is the Flume House, so named from its proximity to the rocky ravine, between whose walls the Great Boulder is suspended, as though ready to fall at the slightest provocation. As these pages are being printed, the telegraph brings the news that the ravine has been choked by an avalanche, and the fall of the boulder is reported. When the book is in the hands of its readers, the correctness of the report will have been determined, but at this writing it cannot be verified.

FLUME AND BOULDER.

The Pool, the Cascades, Georgianna Falls, Mount Pemigewasset, and other objects of interest, are to be visited from the Flume House. A stage route extends from the Profile House to Plymouth, via the Pemigewasset, and before the completion of the railroad from Bethlehem, was the principal method of conveyance to this locality.

It is still a favorite with many travelers, being, as above indicated, a direct route to Plymouth, a favorite resort on the Boston, Concord, & Montreal Railroad. Those wishing to reach Boston by this route may connect by stage with the trains at Plymouth, or, returning to Bethlehem, may take the trains of this road, which run via Wing Road, Littleton, Warren, Wells River, Plymouth and Lake Winnipesaukee, to Concord, thence by Concord, Lowell & Boston Railroad, to the metropolis of New England. This is a popular route between Boston and the mountains, and is very largely patronized in the summer.

WEIRS STATION AND STEAMBOAT LANDING, LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE.

Near Warren, on this line, is Moosilauke, a mountain peak of some celebrity, which from its comparatively isolated position, affords a very fine view from its summit. The town boasts of fifty miles of trout streams, and several excellent hotels provide good accommodations for such as desire to “drop the line,” or spend a season in recreation.

OWL’S HEAD AND MOOSILAUKE MOUNTAIN.

The Pemigewasset House, at Plymouth, is the dining station of the B. C. & M. R. R., and has an almost national reputation for the excellence of its cuisine. It is also a favorite summer resort hotel.

The beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee is reached at Weirs Station and Steamboat Landing. This sheet of water, irregular in its boundaries, studded with hundreds of islands, and bordered by some of the finest scenery in the world, has obtained almost a world-wide fame, being visited by thousands of tourists every season. Weirs Station is on the western shore; and within a few years has become celebrated as the location of a permanent camp-ground, occupied in turns by the Methodists, the Unitarians, and the Grand Army of the Republic. Several hotels and summer boarding houses have been built to accommodate the increasing demands of tourists who wish to tarry by the margin of the lake, and enjoy its lovely scenery, and bathe and fish in its waters, or ride over its surface among its myriad islands. Center Harbor, on its north shore, Wolfboro on the east, and Alton Bay on the south, are all well-known summer resorts, and the ride between these points by steamer constitutes a delightful trip. Two boats of considerable size, the “Lady of the Lake,” owned by the Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, and the “Mount Washington,” the property of the Boston & Maine Railroad, together with several smaller craft, constitute the flotilla; and their frequent trips among the islands and between the principal ports just mentioned afford opportunity to enjoy the attractions of Winnipesaukee, and to realize the significance of its Indian title, which is translated “Smile of the Great Spirit.”

PEMIGEWASSET HOUSE, PLYMOUTH, N. H.

The “Weirs” takes its name from having formerly been the location of the fish-weirs of the aborigines, whence an unlimited supply of food was drawn, in the days before the shriek of the locomotive, or even the crack of the stage-driver’s whip, broke the stillness of the adjacent forests.

From Weirs Station the route to Boston is via Concord, Manchester, Nashua, and Lowell.

LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE.—STEAMER “LADY OF THE LAKE.”