rom the Peak, once beheld, can never be forgotten. The first
sensation is that of complete isolation. The silence is profound. The
clouds are below us, and noiselessly break in foaming billows against
the faces of the beetling cliffs. Occasionally the silence is broken by
the deep roll of thunder from the depths beneath, as though the voice of
the Creator were uttering a stern edict of destruction. The storm rises,
the mists envelop us, there is a rush of wind, a rattle of hail, and we
seek refuge in the hotel.

"Pause a moment before entering, and hold up your hands. You can feel
the sharp tingle of the electric current as it escapes from your
finger-tips. The storm is soon over, and you can see the sunbeams
gilding the upper surfaces of the white clouds that sway and swing below
you half way down the mountain sides, and completely hide from view the
world beneath. The scenery shifts, like a drawn curtain the clouds part;
and as from the heights of another sphere we look forth upon the majesty
of the mountains and the plains, an ocean of inextricably entangled
peaks sweeps into view. Forests dark and vast seem like vague shadows on
distant mountain sides. A city is dwarfed into the compass of a single
block; water courses are mere threads of silver, laid in graceful curves
upon the green velvet mantle of the endless plains. The red granite
rocks beneath our feet are starred with tiny flowers, so minute that
they are almost microscopic, yet tinted with the most delicate and
tender colors.

"The majesty of greatness and the mystery of minuteness are here brought
face to face. What wonders of creation exist between these two extremes!
The thoughtful mind is awed by the contemplation of this scene, and when
the reflection comes that these vast spaces are but grains of sand upon
an infinite shore of creation, and that there are worlds of beauty as
far and varied between the tiny flowers and the ultimate researches of
the microscope as those which exist, on an ascending scale, between the
flowers and the great globe itself, the mind is overwhelmed with wonder
and admiration. It is in vain that one strives to describe the scene.
Only those who have beheld it can realize its grandeur and
magnificence."

Lovers of horseback riding regard the vicinity of Pike's Peak and
Manitou almost in the light of a paradise. A ride of a few miles in any
direction leads to some specially attractive or historic spot. Crystal
Park is one of