THE SEARCH AND FINDING 



margin, and was spotted here and there with 

 old and mossy orcharding; the west shore 

 rose in a stiff bluff that was packed close with 

 hemlocks and maples; while beyond the bluff 

 a rattling stream came down over mill dykes 

 and through swift sluices, and sent its whirl- 

 ing bubbles far out into the bosom of the little 

 bay. West of the bluff lay the level farm 

 lands; and northward of the green slope which 

 formed the northern shore, it seemed to me 

 that wooded hills would rise steep and ragged, 

 with such wildness in them as would make ad- 

 mirable setting for the sloping grass land be- 

 low, and the Sunday quiet of the cove. It 

 seemed to me that possibly there might be an 

 oyster bed planted along the shore, which 

 would help out the salads that should be 

 planted above; and, possibly, a miniature dock 

 might be thrust out into the water, at which 

 some little pinnace might float, with a gay 

 pennant at her truck. 



Possibly it does; possibly there is such a 

 place ; but for me it was only a picture. 



Again, it seemed to me that the farm house 

 would nestle in some little glen upon the banks 

 of a river, where every day crowded boats 

 passed, surging up against the current, or glid- 

 ing down with a meteor-like swiftness. 



5 



