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- 8 VICTORIA ILLUSTRATED.
a grand one. The well ordered, picturesque city in the foreground ; beyond, the shimmering harbor and Straits, reflecting the deep blue of the sky ; across this grand body of water, the Straits of Juan de Fuca, may be seen the glittering, snow-capped uneven line of peaks of the Olympic range, extending over the westerly part of the State of Washington ; to their east, on the other side of Puget Sound, the forest-covered foot hills, and then the mountains themselves of the Cascade range, towering into sight, and presided over by the great snow sentinels, Mount Baker,
and the Sisters and Mount Rainer, the pride of Washington. Further to the north, loom up the white saw-toothed peaks of the great ranges of British Columbia, the Fraser and the Selkirks, while between them and the post of vision, extend the Straits of Georgia, dotted with innumerable is-lands.
Such continuousscenic splendor can be viewed at no other place in the Pacific North-west; every variety of scenery is familiar to Victorians -the calm and pleasing pastoral to the stern, imposing and majestic.
PARKS AND DRIVES.
One of the first and most natural exclamations ot visitors, is, " Why, how many handsome homes there are here !" And so there are. Probably no avenue in Canada possesses more costly and nificent, yet home-like mansions than does Belcher street ; and besides Belcher street, there are the Gorge road, Upper Fort street, Esquimalt road, and half a dozen others of similar attractiveness. Each residence is set like a jewel in its own well appointed and well cared for grounds, and the taste of the owners is apparent In the beauty of their surroundings, as well as in the architecture of their homes. In parks and drives,
too, the same love of beauty is apparent. Beacon Hill
Park has few rivals on the continent. It comprises two or
three hundred acres, well wooded in part, and intersected
with carriage drives lined by royal oak trees, over whose
heads centuries have passed. Two or three miniature lakes,
bordered by green lawns and pebbly beaches, are the home
of a choice collection of water fowl, while in the deer park
and bear pit are to be found specimens of many of the
animals and birds native to the Province. Constant additions are being
made, and the "zoo? now contains a hundred or more valuable
attractions. The sides of Beacon
Hill proper afford a recreation
ground for the city, unsurpassed for cricket,
baseball, lacrosse and kindred sports,
which are in progress almost every day, nine months of the
year. The hill slopes to the beach, the shore
line being broken by it series of charming little bays. Every
Sunday afternoon music is furnished in the
park, and thousands meet under the shade of the
trees to promenade and enjoy the beauties of
the city's magnificent breathing spot. The
Gorge, formed by the outgoing and incoming tides, on
Victoria Arm, which runs inland from the sea for four
or five miles, is another attractive park, well liked by
Victorians. There it is that the regattas take place each
24th of May, for Victoria is an eminently loyal city, and
its celebrations of the Queen's Birthday are famous far and
wide. Beautiful drives extend from the city in all direcdions-- to Goldstream, to various points on the sea coast,
and to Esquimalt, three miles away, and also connected by
electric railway. Here is the most perfect harbor on the
coast, in which the stern warships of Britain are constantly
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