Next day, travelling along the river's banks, was an uninterrupted
pleasure. We closed our drive in the afternoon at the house of an
English gentleman, who has gratified, as few men do, the common wish to
pass the evening of an active day amid the quiet influences of country
life. He showed us a bookcase filled with books about this country;
these he had collected for years, and become so familiar with the
localities that, on coming here at last, he sought and found, at once,
the very spot he wanted, and where he is as content as he hoped to be,
thus realizing Wordsworth's description of the wise man, who "sees what
he foresaw."
A wood surrounds the house, through which paths are cut in every
direction. It is, for this new country, a large and handsome dwelling;
but round it are its barns and farm yard, with cattle and poultry.
These, however, in the framework of wood, have a very picturesque and
pleasing effect. There is that mixture of culture and rudeness in the
aspect of things as gives a feeling of freedom, not of confusion.
I wish it were possible to give some idea of this scene as viewed by the
earliest freshness of dewy dawn. This habitation of man seemed like a
nest in the grass, so thoroughly were the buildings and all the objects
of human care harmonized with what was natural. The tall trees bent and
whispered all around, as if to hail with sheltering love the men who had
come to dwell among them.
The young ladies were musicians, and spoke French fluently, having been
educated in a convent.
Pages:
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47