e with but dull, reflected beams we burn!

Yet this we know; yon ring of spectral light,
Whose distance thrills the soul with solemn awe,
Can ne'er escape in its majestic might
The firm control of omnipresent law.
This mote descending to its bounden place.
Those suns whose radiance we can scarcely trace,
Alike obey the Power pervading space.

[Illustration: NIGHT.]

[Illustration: THE SAN FRANCISCO VOLCANOES.]

[Illustration: STARTING FOR THE GRAND CANON.]

One glorious September morning, leaving our train at Flagstaff, we
started in stage-coaches for a drive of sixty-five miles to the Grand
Canon. I had looked forward to this drive with some misgiving,
dreading the heat of the sun, and the dust and sand which I had
supposed we should encounter; but to my astonishment and delight it
was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It was only eleven hours in
duration, and not only was most of the route level, but two-thirds of
it lay through a section of beautifully rolling land, diversified
with open glades and thousands upon thousands of tall pines and
cedars entirely free from undergrowth. It is no exaggeration to say
that we drove that day for miles at a time over a road carpeted with
pine needles. The truth is, Arizona, though usually considered a
treeless and rainless country, possesses some remarkable exceptions;
and the region near Flagstaff not only abounds in stately pines, but
is at certain seasons visited by rainstorms which keep it fresh and
beautiful. During our stay at the Grand Canon we had a shower every
night; the atmosphere was marvelously pure, and aromatic with the
odors of a million pines; and so exhilarating was exercise in the
open air, that however arduous it might be, we never felt
inconvenienced by fatigue, and mere existence gave us joy. Decidedly,
then, it will not do to condemn the whole of Arizona because of the
heat of its arid, southern plains; for the northern portion of the
state is a plateau, with an elevation of from five thousand to seven
thousand feet. Hence, as it is not latitude, so much as altitude,
that gives us healthful, pleasing temperature, in parts of Arizona
the climate is delightful during the entire year.

[Illustration: THE DRIVE THROUGH THE PINES.]

[Illustration: THE SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAIN.]

A portion of this stage-coach journey led us over the flank of the
great San Francisco Mountain. The isolated position, striking
similarity, and almost unifo