THE SEARCH AND FINDING. 21 



addition to other requisites, it possessed a mill site, 

 mill, and small body of water, which, in the hands of 

 taste, he had no doubt," &c., &c. 



The agent regretted that he could give me no de- 

 finite information in regard to the exact size of the 

 property, or tenns of sale, but begged me to pay a 

 visit to the place before deciding. 



The description, though not particularly definite, 

 was yet sufficiently piquant and suggestive to induce 

 me to comply with the hint of the agent. I liked the 

 man's nomenclature " a considerable country proper- 

 ty ; " it conveyed an impression of dignified quiet and 

 retirement. The dwelling was probably a modest 

 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 coloring, 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. Ob- 

 taining all needed information from his agent, in re- 

 gard to the locality and its approaches from the city, 

 I set off upon a charming morning of June by one 



