152 LIVING CREATURES. 



brother who lived in Boston. You can understand 

 the excitement which attends a boy's preparations for 

 his first journey ; but a country boy's first visit to 

 Boston exceeds, perhaps, any experience of yours in 

 that line. 



The month passed swiftly away, and John returned 

 home with brighter eyes and prouder step. The world 

 had been revealed to him on a broader scale. What 

 had he not seen? He was a hero in the opinion of 

 his school-mates. He had enough stories to tell of 

 his adventures to last through the winter. 



If possible, he was a merrier boy than before, who 

 now bounded through the dear old pasture. There 

 were several dams visited by their young proprietor, 

 one somewhat extensive, with a miniature water-wheel 

 and mill at the side. The dam had been partially 

 washed away by a violent rain, and an accumulation 

 of moss had clogged the wheel of the mill. " Ah! 

 I see there has been a freshet, and my mill is dam- 

 aged. These freshets are terrible things for manufact- 

 urers, I declare ! " 



Leaving the scene of this disaster, he approached 

 the smooth, white rock, which was always a favorite 

 resort, and near which, on the bank of the stream, 

 there was a structure of brick about two feet high, 

 which this young man called "my summer residence 

 on the Hudson." 



Six yards from the rock, he suddenly paused, with 

 his eyes intently fixed upon some object before him. 

 'Step by step, he drew nearer without once moving his 

 eyes, which were now full of horror mingled with a 

 hopeful doubt; but as he proceeded, the doubt van- 



