“No，no，Basil，“criedhiswife。“Itwouldbesacrilege！Allthatissacredtothosedearyoungdaysofours；andIwouldn’tthinkoftryingtorepeatit。Ourownghostswouldriseupinthatdining-roomtoreproachusforourintrusion！Oh，perhapswehavedoneawickedthingincomingthisjourney！Weoughttohaveleftthepastalone；weshallonlymarourmemoriesofallthesebeautifulplaces。DoyousupposeBuffalocanbeaspoeticalasitwasthen？Buffalo！Thenamedoesn’tinvitetheMuseverymuch。Perhapsitneverwasverypoetical！Oh，Basil，dear，I’mafraidwehaveonlycometofindoutthatweweremistakenabouteverything！Let’sleaveRochesteralone，atanyrate！“
I’mnottroubled！Wewon’tdisturbourdreamofRochester；butIdon’tdespairofBuffalo。I’msurethatBuffalowillbeallthatourfancyeverpaintedit。IbelieveinBuffalo。“
“Well，well，“murmuredIsabel，“Ihopeyou’reright；“andsheputsomethingstogetherforleavingtheircaratBuffalo，whiletheywerestilltwohoursaway。
Whentheyreachedaplacewherethelandmateditslevelwiththelevelofthelake，theyranintoawildernessofrailroadcars，inaworldwherelifeseemedtobeoperatedsolelybylocomotivesandtheirhelplessminions。Thebellowingandbleatingtrainswerearrivingineverydirection，notonlyalongthegroundflooroftheplain，butstatelystretchesoftrestle-work，whichcurvedandextendedacrosstheplain，carriedthemtoandfrooverhead。Thetravelersownedthatthisrailroadsuburbhaditsownimpressiveness，andtheysaidthatthetrestle-workwasasnobleineffectasthelinesofaqueductthatstalkacrosstheRomanCampagna。PerhapsthiswasbecausetheyhadnotseentheCampagnaoritsaqueductsforagreatwhile；buttheyweresogladtofindthemselvesinthespiritoftheirformerjourneyagainthattheywereamiabletoeverything。Whenthechildrenfirstcaughtsightofthelake’sdeliciousblue，andcriedoutthatitwaslovelierthanthesea，theyfeltquitealocalprideintheirpreference。ItwaswhatIsabelhadsaidtwelveyearsbefore，onfirstbeholdingthelake。
ButtheydidnotreallyseethelaketilltheyhadtakenthetrainforNiagaraFalls，afterbreakfastinginthedepot，wherethechildren，usedtotheseverenativeorthepatronizingIrishministrationsofBostonrestaurantsandhotels，reveledforthefirsttimeintheaffectionatedevotionofablackwaiter。Therewasalreadyaridiculousabundanceandvarietyonthetable；butthiswaiterbroughtthemstrawberriesandagainstrawberries，andrepeatedplatesofgriddlecakeswithmaplesyrup；andhehungoverthebackoffirstonechairandthenanotherwithanunselfishjoyintheappetitesofthebreakfasterswhichgaveBasilrenewedhopesofhisrace。“Suchraptureinservingarguesalargenessofnaturewhichwillberecognizedhereafter，“hesaid，feelingaboutinhiswaistcoatpocketforaquarter。Itseemedapitytorenderthewaiter’szealretroactivelyinterested，butinviewofthefactthathepossiblyexpectedthequarter，therewasnothingelsetodo；andbyamysteriousstrokeofgratitudethewaiterdeliveredthemintothehandsofafriend，whotookanotherquarterfromthemforcarryingtheirbagsandwrapstothetrain。Thissecondretainerapprovedtheiradmirationoftheaestheticformsandcolorsofthedepotcolonnade；andbeingaskedifthatwerethedepotwhoseroofhadfalleninsomeyearsbefore，proudlyrepliedthatitwas。
“Therewereagreatmanykilled，weren’tthere？“askedBasil，withsympatheticsatisfactioninthedisaster。Theporterseemedhumiliated；
heconfessedthemortifyingtruththatthelossoflifewassmall，butherecoveredajustself-respectinadding，“Iftheroofhadfalleninfiveminutessooner，itwouldhavekilledaboutthreehundredpeople。“
BasilhadpromisedthechildrenasightoftheRapidsbeforetheyreachedtheFalls，andtheyheldhimrigidlyaccountablefromthemomenttheyenteredthetrain，andbegantorunoutofthecitybetweentheriverandthecanal。Heattemptedadiversionwiththecanalboats，andtriedtobringforwardthesubjectofRudderGrangeinthatconnection。Theysaidthatthecanalboatsweresplendid，buttheywerelookingfortheRapidsnow；andtheydeclinedtobeinterestedinawindowinoneoftheboats，whichBasilsaidwasjustlikethewindowthattheRudderGrangerandtheboarderhadpoppedPomonaoutofwhentheytookherforaburglar。
“Youspoilthosechildren，Basil，“saidhiswife，astheyclamberedoverhim，andclamoredfortheRapids。
“AtpresentI’mgivingthemanobject-lessoninpatienceandself-denial；
theyareexperiencingthefactthattheycan’thavetheRapidstilltheygettothem，andprobablythey’llbedisappointedinthemwhentheyarrive。“
Infact，theyvaluedtheRapidsverylittlemorethantheHoosacTunnel，whentheycameinsightofthem，atlast；andBasilhadsomequestioninhisownmindwhethertheRapidshadnotdwindledsincehisformervisit。
HedidnotbreathethisdoubttoIsabel，however，andshearrivedattheFallswithunabatedexpectations。Theyweregoingtospendonlyhalfadaythere；andtheyturnedintothestation，awayfromthephalanxofomnibuses，whentheydismountedfromtheirtrain。Theyseemed，asbefore，tobetheonlypassengerswhohadarrived，andtheyfoundanabundantchoiceofcarriageswaitinginthestreet，outsidethestation。
TheNiagarahackmanmayoncehavebeenapredatoryandveryrampantanimal，butpublicopinion，longexpressedthroughthepublicprints，hasreducedhimtosilenceandmeekness。Apparently，hemaynotsomuchasbeckonwithhiswhiptothearrivingwayfarer；itiscertainthathecannotcrossthepavementtothestationdoor；andBasil，invitingoneofthemtonegotiation，washimselfrequiredbytheattendantpolicemantostepouttothecurbstone，andcompletehistransactionthere。Itwasanimpressiveillustrationofthepowerofafreepress，butuponthewholeBasilfoundtheeffectmelancholy；ithadthesaddeningqualitywhichinheresineverysortofperfection。Thehackman，reducedtoentireorder，appealedtohiscompassion，andhehadnotthehearttobeathimdownfromhismoderatefirstdemand，asperhapsheoughttohavedone。
Theydrovedirectlytothecataract，andfoundthemselvesintheprettygrovebesidetheAmericanFall，andintheairwhosedampnesswasasfamiliarasiftheyhadbreatheditalltheirchildhood。Itwasfullnowofthefragranceofsomesortofwildblossom；andagaintheyhadthatold，entrancingsenseofthemingledawfulnessandlovelinessofthegreatspectacle。Thissylvanperfume，thegayetyofthesunshine，themildnessofthebreezethatstirredtheleavesoverhead，andthebird-
singingthatmadeitselfheardamidtheroaroftherapidsandthesolemnincessantplungeofthecataract，movedtheirhearts，andmadethemchildrenwiththeboyandgirl，whostoodraptforamomentandthenbrokeintojoyfulwonder。TheycouldsympathizewiththeardorwithwhichTomlongedtotemptfateatthebrinkoftheriver，andoverthetopsoftheparapetswhichhavebeenbuiltalongtheedgeoftheprecipice，andtheyequallyenteredintotheterrorwithwhichBellascreamedathissuicidalzeal。Theyjoinedherinrestraininghim；theyreducedhimtoabeggarlyaccountofhalfadozenstones，flungintotheRapidsatnotlessthantenpacesfromthebrink；andtheywouldnotlethimtossthesmallestpebbleovertheparapet，thoughhelaughedtoscornthenotionthatanybodyshouldbehurtbythembelow。
ItseemedtothemthatthetrivialityofmaninthesurroundingsoftheFallshadincreasedwiththelapseoftime。Thereweremoreboothsandbazaars，andmorecoloredfeatherfanswithwholebirdsspittedinthecentres；andtherewasanoffensivearrayofblueandgreenandyellowglassesontheshore，throughwhichyouwereexpectedtolookattheFallsgratis。TheymissedthesimpledignityoftheblanchingIndianmaids，whousedtosquataboutonthegrass，withtheirlapsfullofmoccasinsandpin-cushions。But，asofold，thephotographercameoutofhissaloon，andinvitedthemtoposeforafamilygroup；representingthatthelightandthesprayweresingularlypropitious，andthateverythinginnatureinvitedthemtobetaken。Basilputhimoffgently，forthesakeofthetimewhenhehadrefusedtobephotographedinabridalgroup，andtookrefugefromhiminthelonglowbuildingfromwhichyoudescendtothefootofthecataract。
ThegrovebesidetheAmericanFallhasbeeninclosed，andnamedProspectPark，byacompanywhichexactshalfadollarforadmittance，andthenmakesyoufreeofallitswondersandconveniences，forwhichyouoncehadtopayseverally。Thisiswellenough；butformerlyyoucouldrefusetogodowntheinclinedtramway，andnowyoucannot，withoutfeelingthatyouhavefailedtogetyourmoney’sworth。ItwasinthisillogicalspiritofeconomythatBasilinvitedhisfamilytothedescent；butIsabelshookherhead。“No，yougowiththechildren，“shesaid，“andI
willstay，here，tillyougetback；“heragonizedcountenanceadded，“andprayforyou；“andBasiltookhischildrenoneithersideofhim，andrumbleddownthe，terribledescentwithmuchoftheexcitementthatattendstravelinanopenhorse-car。Whenhesteppedoutofthecarhefeltthatincreaseofcouragewhichcomestoeverymanaftersafelypassingthroughdanger。Heresolvedtobravethemistsandslippery-
stonesatthefootoftheFall；andhewouldhaveplungedatonceintothisfreshperil，ifhehadnotbeenpreventedbytheProspectParkCompany。Thisingeniousassociationhasbuiltalargetunnel-likeshedquitetothewater’sedge，sothatyoucannotviewthecataractasyouoncecould，atareasonableremoteness，butmustemergefromthebuildingintoastormofspray。Theroofofthetunnelispaintedwithalivelyeffectinparty-coloredstripes，andislettered“TheShadowoftheRock，“sothatyoutakeitatfirsttobeanappealtoyouraestheticsense；buttherealobjectofthecompanyisnotapparenttillyouputyourheadoutintothetempest，whenyouagreewiththenearestguide——
andoneisalwaysverynear——thatyouhadbetterhaveanoil-skindress，asBasildid。HetoldtheguidethathedidnotwishtogoundertheFall，andtheguideconfidentiallyadmittedthattherewasnofuninthat，anyway；andinthemeantimeheequippedhimandhischildrenfortheirforayintothemist。Whentheyissuedforth，undertheirfriend’sleadership，Basilfeltthat，withhischildrenclingingtoeachhand，helookedlikesomesortofanimalwithitsyoung，and，thoughnotunsocialbynature，hewasgladtobeamongstrangersforthetime。Theyclimbedhitherandthitherovertherocks，andliftedtheirstreamingfacesfortheviewswhichtheguidepointedout；andinariftofthespraytheyreallycaughtonegloriousglimpseofthewholesweepoftheFall。Thenextinstantthesprayswirledback，andtheyweregladtoturnforasightoftherainbow，lyinginacircleontherocksasquietlyandnaturallyasifthathadbeenthehabitofrainbowseversincetheflood。
Thiswasalltherewastobedone，andtheystreamedbackintothetunnel，wheretheydisrobedinthefaceofamenacingplacard，whichannouncedthatthehireofaguideandadressforgoingundertheFallwasonedollar。
“Willtheymakeyoupayadollarforeachofus，papa？“askedTom，fearfully。
“Oh，pooh，no！“returnedBasil；“wehaven’tbeenundertheFall。“Buthesoughtouttheproprietorwithatremblingheart。Theproprietorwasamanofseverelylogicalmind；hesaidthatthechargewouldbethreedollars，fortheyhadhadtheuseofthedressesandtheguidejustthesameasiftheyhadgoneundertheFall；andherefusedtorecognizeanythingmisleadinginthedressing-roomplacard:Infine，heleftBasilwithoutalegtostandupon。Itwasnotsomuchthethreedollarsasthesenseofhavingbeenswindledthatvexedhim；andheinstantlyresolvednottosharehisannoyancewithIsabel。Why，indeed，shouldheputthatburdenuponher？Ifshewerenonethewiser，shewouldbenonethepoorer；andheoughttobewillingtodenyhimselfhersympathyforthesakeofsparingherneedlesspain。
