THE SEARCH AND FINDING 



est farmhouse, grown mossy under the shade 

 of the old wood; possibly some Dutch affair 

 of stone, with Van Heine gables, which it 

 would be hardly decorous to pull down. I 

 might add a little to its size, and so make it 

 habitable; or, if well placed, it might — who 

 knew — be turned into a cottage for the miller. 

 There remained, after all this agreeable color- 

 ing, the small body of water and the diversified 

 surface, which were enough in themselves to 

 form the outlines of a very captivating picture. 

 I determined to pay Mr. Van Heine a visit. 

 Obtaining all needed information from his 

 agent, in regard to the locality and its ap- 

 proaches from the city, I set off upon a charm- 

 ing morning of June by one of the northern 

 railways, and after an hour's ride, was put 

 down at a station some five miles distant from 

 the property. I drove across the country at 

 a leisurely pace, stopping here and there upon 

 a hilltop to admire the far-off views, and specu- 

 lating upon possible improvements that might 

 be made in the badly conditioned road. The 

 neighborhood was not populous : indeed, it 

 was only after having measured, as I fancied, 

 the fifth mile, that I for the first time saw a 

 party from whom I might ask special direc- 

 tions. I may describe this party as a tall man 



25 



