London to John O* Groat's. 401 



the cousins, who had never seen each other's faces, had 

 kept up an affectionate correspondence. A son and 

 son-in-law of the brother in America were in the 

 Federal army, and here was a sea-divided family filled 

 with all the sad, silent solicitude of affection for beloved 

 ones exposed to the fearful hazards of a war sundering 

 more ties of blood-relationship than any other ever 

 waged on earth. 



Saturday, September 27th. Eesumed my walk with 

 increased animation, feeling myself within two days' 

 distance of its end. The scenery softens down to an 

 agricultural aspect, the country declining northerly 

 toward the sea. Passed through a well-cultivated 

 district, never unpeopled or wasted by eviction, but 

 held by a kind of even yeomanry of proprietors. The 

 cottages are comfortable, resembling the white houses 

 of New England considerably. They are nearly all 

 of one story, with a chimney at each end, broadside to 

 the road, and a door in the middle, dividing the house 

 into two apartments. They are built of stone, the 

 newest ones having a slate roof. Some of them are 

 whitewashed, others so liberally jointed with mortar as 

 to give them a bright and cheery appearance. These, 

 of course, are the last edition of cottages, enlarged and 

 amended in every way. The old issues are ragged 

 volumes, mostly bound in turf or bog grass, well corded 

 2 i) 



