tiful agates in the world.

In the northeastern part of the lake is an island situated about
twenty miles from the Canadian shore, which has a wonderful lake in
its centre, about one mile in length. It is as beautiful as it is
wonderful. It is imbosomed in the fastnesses of perpendicular cliffs,
which rise to a height of seven hundred feet. It has but one outlet
and is impassable even to a canoe. At the opening of this narrow chasm
stands a column of solid rock which has a base of about one hundred
feet in diameter. The column rises, gradually tapering until it
reaches a height of eight hundred feet. A solitary pine surmounts the
summit of this wonderful column. There it stands like the sentinel of
this calm, deep lake, whose silence and solitude are rarely ever
broken, and whose tranquil bosom has never been ruffled by the
slightest breeze.

[Illustration: Rock Chapel.]

[Illustration: The Castles.]

The scenery on the shores of Lake Superior is in some places of the
most romantic character. About one hundred miles west of Saut St.
Mary, a range of cliffs are to be seen, what has been called the
"Pictured Rocks." They are a series of sandstone bluffs extending
along the shore of the lake for about five miles, and rising, in most
places vertically from the water, from fifty to two hundred feet in
height. These towering cliffs have been worn away by the action of the
lake, which for centuries has dashed an ocean-like surf against their
base. The surface of these rocks has been, in large portions,
strangely colored by bands of brilliant hues, which present to the eye
of the voyager a singularly pleasing appearance. One of these cliffs
resembles so much the turreted entrance and arched portal of some old
feudal castle that it has been called "Rock Castle." Beyond this is
another architectural curiosity, denominated "The Grand Portal," which
consists of an arched opening in the rocks. The cliff is composed of a
vast mass, of a rectilinear shape, projecting out into the lake six
hundred feet, and presenting a front of three hundred feet, and rising
to a height of two hundred feet. An entrance has been excavated from
one side to the other, opening out into large vaulted passages which
communicate with the great dome, some three hundred feet from the
front of the cliff. The Grand Portal, which opens out on the lake, is
of magnificent dimensions, being one hundred feet high, and one
hundred and sixty-eight feet wide at the