Hills of the Shatemuc

elling, whe

with rocks,

dark green cones

shadows the cle

EL

ily; for he wrote home of gay dinings-out, and familiar intercourse with this and that member of the Senate and Assembly, and hospitable houses that were open to him in Vantassel, where he had pleasant friends and pleasant times. But the home cares were upon him even then; he told how he longed for the Session to be over, that he might be with his family; he sent dear love

an of forty. Perhaps Sam and Anderese wrought better than their wont, in shame or in admiration. Karen never had so good a woodpile, Mrs. Landholm's meal bags were never better looked after; and little Winifred and Asahel never wanted their rides in the snow, nor had more nuts cracked o' nights; thoug

aid; "that was a good thing; and he seemed to k

armer, all those months. There was a little visit from Rufus too, at mid-winter, which must have wakened the spirit of other th

" said his little sister, meeting him with joyf

brother, taking her up to his shoulder. "Co

e little girl. "Mamma! - G

Governor's no

ed, putting her little hand upon his cold

now, and

you doing i

lki

it

ing

was st

the

tle, and went on

oing when you wa

ou want to

ll

scutchi

is t

ng flax in the barn the other day? - beating it

aid, - mamma said, you

it is ver

done dressing fla

uppose you have,

you done dr

, s

flax was all done, Win

s is all do

sing flax to-day?" said Asa

op, "I wish Asahel w

ld be

en working for?"

mys

throp?" said his mother i

he mountain, mamma,

sing

, ma

ome over the mo

, mo

ce to the fire to ta

l exc

it, for Winthrop to be dres

wrong?" said

t, ma

ma was

wrong?" repe

ht to be doing y

o-day," Winthrop remarked

ifred with her childish voice; - "you

"Don't overtry yourself, my son! -" but he answered her always with his usual composure, or with one of those deep breaking-up looks which acknowledged only her care - not the

orking on his own score. Then Mr. Landholm came home; and the energies of both the one and the other were fully taxed, at the plough and the harrow, in the barnyard and in the forest, where in all the want of Rufus made a great gap.

ccomplishing; Rufus would be a man! They were not very frequent, for they avoided the post-office to save expense, and came by a chance hand now and then; - "Favoured by Mr. Upshur," - or, "By Uncle Absalom." They were written on great uncouth sheets of letter-paper, yellow and coarse; but the handwriting grew bold and firm, and the words and the thoughts were changing faster yet, from the rude and narrow mind of the boy

h great sheets and laid it on the table, - "the man that cou

op hea

rty miles off. This gentleman, himself a farmer extremely well to do in the world, and with a small family, had invited Rufus to come to his house and carry on his studies there. The in

a different nature, not at all from affectation, but by the necessity of the case; and as noble and graceful as nature intended him to be, they delightedly confessed that he was. Perhaps by the same necessity, his view of thin

ish Rufus would pull off his f

't think your brother's clothes are very fine; I

y are better th

hen Winthrop i

o good for him to help Winthrop load the

nthrop

new he was go

othes, or he wouldn't be fit to

to take them of

d with Winthrop

n the corner, look

e they no

. Landholm, as Rufus and

r of eyes directed to h

e you ta

you are not more of a farmer,

k of the little boy's hair in a manner to convey a very decided notion of his judgment. Asahel,

hes and help Winthrop more than you do," said h

y expressive breath, - "I shall feel fine

es

t Karen

own her iron and took a hot one. The t

atching he

myself, mother, w

hy

deserve to have y

him one of her grave

deserve

e by her table, for the space of five mi

ma, nor Karen neither. Karen's cooking is not perfection. By the by, there's one thing more I do

er, in an accent that so

; and that's a third less than I should have to give anywhere else, - for such boots. You see I shall want them at Little River - I sh

s going on wi

said, as her iron ma

whether you can

ut I don't see the sense of

they are two dollars

ill it cost you to g

o go straight t

half careless, half displeased;

llars," said Winthrop, "you shall have

t?" said his brother l

come by

id it co

de

ow

know for? I beat it o

ntain, through the snow, win

brother handed him. But it was a laugh assumed to hide some feeling. "Well, it shall ge

?" said h

mother, which I latel

English?" sai

e; and the two fishers set forth on their errand; Rufus carrying the basket and fishing-poles, and Wi

r, mayn'

said

pping to kiss her, - "and I am afraid you would roll off

after her two brothers as

g about an old cedar as if like a wilful child determined that only itself should be seen. Nature grew them and nature trained them; and sweet wreaths, fluttering in the wind, gently warned the passer-by that nature alone had to do there. Cedars, as soon as the bottom land was cleared, stood the denizens of the soil on every side, lifting their soft heads into the sky. Little else was to be seen. Here and there, a little further off, the lighter green of an oak shewed itself, or the tufts of a yellow pine; but near at hand the cedars held the ground, thick pyramids or cones of green, from the very soil, smooth and tapered as if a shears had been there; but only nature had managed it. They hid all else that they could; but the grey rocks peeped under,

ing growth of cedars, the rocks and the greensward gently let themselves down to the edge of the water. The little dory was moored between two uprising heads of g

still, - surely it was Summer's siesta; the very birds were still; but it was not the oppressive rest before a thunderstorm, only the pleasant hush of a summer's day. The very air seem

These acres were not used except for grazing cattle; the first field was occupied with a grove of cylindrical cedars; in the second a soft growth of young pines sloped up towards the height; the ground there rising fast to a very bluff and precipitous range which ended the promontory, and pushed the river boldly into a curve, as abrupt almost as the one it took in an opposite direction a quarter of a mile below. Here the shore was bold and beautiful. The sheer rock sprang up two hundred feet from the very bosom of the river, a smooth perpendicular wall; sometimes broken with a fissure and an out-jutting ledge, in other parts only roughe

he solid stone. Now the fellow mountain, close beyond, came rapidly in view, and, as the point of the promontory was gained, the whole broad north scene opened upon the eye. Two hills of equal height on the east shore looked over the river at their neighbours. Above them, on both shores, the land fell, and at the distance of about eight miles curved round to the east in an

int, a rounded mass of granite pushed itself into the water out of reach of the trees and shewed itself summer and winter barefacedly. This rock was known at certain states of the tide to be in the way of the

then the flutter of a poor little fish as he struggled out of his element, or the stir made by one of the fishers in reaching after the bait-basket - and then all was still again. The lines drooped motionless in the water; the eyes

t!" said Rufus at len

her seem

hing at?" said Ruf

inking you had been

most enough

retty place though, if it wasn't August, - and if on

r than Asphodel

are you going to g

thr

n't k

ng been don

N

time, W

op was

ght not to be fishing here any lon

t's all I know, but I can't see a bit ahead. I'm round there under the p

on their corks, gravely, and in the cas

" said he after a short silence; "and the

t's

oo

" said

s which I h

his brother in

s -

other remarked simply, as he d

? what if I did? Can't a man want to f

himself turned about with his head in the pl

other putting his hand in his pocket; - "There they are! - I don't want them - I w

etter legs," said Winth

e of himself, - "a man may go empty-headed, but he can

to society at Aspho

ou see. They are necessary to me. Even at Asphodel - but that was nothing. Asphodel will be

eady for colle

if I wait longer, and I should like to have you with me. It will make no difference in the en

fish," said Winth

won

got

Mr. Haye's - he's an old friend of my father's and thinks a

him for - besides t

He is one of the rich, rich Mannahatta merchants, but he has a taste for better things too. Father knows him - they met some years ago in the Legislature, and father has done him some service or other since. He has no family - except one

he hasn

has - a

wrong hands, I'm af

ward that he is bringing up with his daughter, - a niece of his wife's - and people sa

e thought of Mr. Haye's fine dinner hasn't taken away your appetit

rose to his feet. "There might be a worse office to

ink of it

f them," said

avely. "That's settled. And here is something you had better pu

, and then his brother, and pushed out into the tide. There was a strong ebb, and they ran swiftly down past rock and mountain and valley, all in a cooler and fairer beauty than a few hours before when

g his hands in the water over the side of t

you'd sit a little

now," Rufus remarked as he took his

u like Mr.

oo bright; but he's a very good man. He doe

in fact went away from home without finding a due opportunity

m duty as the months before had been. The cornstalks were harve

with Winifred and Asahel, a great handful of chestnuts being the game, - "Gov

face; but he only forgot his

ke. - It's better travelling now than it will be by and

you,

hammered upon his hand with her little doubled up fist, and repeated,