Bethlehem is also the railroad connection for the famous FRANCONIA NOTCH, by means of a narrow-gauge railroad, extending into the valley and terminating near the Profile House. The attractions of this locality are sufficiently important to demand special notice by themselves; and we therefore keep straight on in our course, the next stop being at the TWIN MOUNTAIN HOUSE, so named from its proximity to the “Twin Mountains,” one of which is visible from the hotel. This house has for many years been the summer home of Henry Ward Beecher, who addresses large congregations of Sunday excursionists during the season.
[Illustration: SINCLAIR HOUSE, BETHLEHEM.]
Four miles further, and we stop at the WHITE MOUNTAIN HOUSE, one of the oldest of the mountain hotels, a veritable “tavern” of the earlier days, with less of style than its more pretentious neighbors, but with a large stock of good cheer and hospitable care for its guests, at moderate prices. Only a mile from the Fabyan House, the would-be guests of the latter are sometimes compelled, from an over-taxation of its immense capacities, to fall back on the resources of mine host Rounsevel, who gives them the best his house affords, and bids them “be therewith content.”
Six miles from the base of Mount Washington, is one of the most complete establishments of its kind in all the mountain region, having accommodations for five hundred guests. It is situated on a beautiful intervale, at an elevation of more than fifteen hundred feet above sea level, and its piazzas afford a fine view of the White Mountain range. It is also a central point from which excursions are made to the various resorts within easy reach by rail or carriage. The traveler may find, in this vicinity, an opportunity to enjoy a relic of the “good old days” of stage-coaching, which the railway has not succeeded in entirely abolishing, although it has largely superseded the conveyance once so popular in the mountain region.
From the Fabyan House, the railroad has been extended to the base of Mount Washington, there connecting with the wonderful elevated railway to the summit, thus forming a continuous all-rail line to the realm above the clouds. The six miles of road to the base of the mountain compasses some of the steepest grades known to railroad engineering. A powerful engine, of the six-drive-wheel construction, is required to propel a very moderate load of passengers, and as it laboriously puffs along the grades, the forests echo and re-echo with the sound, while the traveler feels thankful that the iron horse, instead of flesh and blood, is being employed in his service.