Five years had here wrought greater changes, than a century would produce in older countries, where time and labour have given permanency to the works of man. To the young hunter and the Judge the scene had less of novelty; though none ever emerge from the dark forests of that mountain, and witness the glorious scenery of that beauteous valley, as it burst unexpectedly upon them, without a feeling of delight. The former cast one admiring glance from north to south, and then sunk his Face again beneath the folds of his coat; while the latter contemplated, with philanthropic pleasure, the prospect of affluence and comfort, that was expanding around him; the result of his own enterprise, and much of it, the fruits of his own industry.
The cheerful sound of sleigh bells, however, soon attracted the attention of the whole party, as they came jingling up the sides of the mountain, at a rate that announced both a powerful team and a hard driver. The bushes which lined the highway interrupted the View, and they were close upon this vehicle, before they discovered who were its occupants.
