242 VIRGINIA 



him that some friends of mine had arrived, 

 and I should stay a few days longer. 



n 



My enjoyment of the country about the 

 Bridge may be said to have begun with 

 my settling down for a more leisurely stay. 

 Hurry and discontent are poor helps to 

 appreciation. That afternoon, the morning 

 having been devoted to ornithological ex- 

 citements, I strolled over to Mount Jeffer- 

 son, and spent an hour in the observatory, 

 where a delicious breeze was blowing. The 

 " mountain " proved to be nothing more 

 than a round grassy hilltop, — the highest 

 point in a sheep-pasture, — but it offered, 

 nevertheless, a wide and charming prospect : 

 mountains near and far, a world of green 

 hills, with here and there a level stretch, 

 most restful to the eye, of the James River 

 valley, in the great Valley of Virginia. Up 

 from the surrounding field came the tinkle 

 of sheep-bells, and down in one corner of it 

 young men were slowly gathering, some in 

 wagons, some on horseback, for a game of 

 ball. There was to be a " match " that 



