Marco Pauls Voyages and Travels | Page 2

was very fine. Sometimes wide meadows and
intervales extended along the river,--and at other places, high hills,
covered with trees, advanced close to the stream. They could see, too,
the farms, and villages, and green hills, across the river, on the New
Hampshire side.
On the second day of their journey, they turned off from the river by a

road which led into the interior of the country; for the village where
Forester's father resided was back among the mountains. They had new
companions in the coach too, on this second day, as well as a new route;
for the company which had been in the coach the day before were to
separate in the morning, to go off in different directions. Several
stage-coaches drove up to the door of the tavern in the morning, just
after breakfast, with the names of the places where they were going to,
upon their sides. One was marked, "Haverhill and Lancaster;" another,
"Middlebury;" and a third, "Concord and Boston;" and there was one
odd-looking vehicle, a sort of carryall, open in front, and drawn by two
horses, which had no name upon it, and so Marco could not tell where
it was going. As these several coaches and carriages drove up to the
door, the hostlers and drivers put on the baggage and bound it down
with great straps, and then handed in the passengers;--and thus the
coaches, one after another, drove away. The whole movement formed a
very busy scene, and Marco, standing upon the piazza in front of the
tavern, enjoyed it very much.
There was a very large elm-tree before the door, with steps to climb up,
and seats among the branches. Marco went up there and sat some time,
looking down upon the coaches as they wheeled round the tree, in
coming up to the door. Then he went down to the piazza again.
[Illustration: THE GREAT ELM]
There was a neatly-dressed young woman, with a little flower-pot in
her hand, standing near him, waiting for her turn. There was a small
orange-tree in her flower-pot. It was about six inches high. The sight of
this orange-tree interested Marco very much, for it reminded him of
home. He had often seen orange-trees growing in the parlors and
green-houses in New York.
"What a pretty little orange-tree!" said Marco. "Where did you get it?"
"How did you know it was an orange-tree?" said the girl.
"O, I know an orange-tree well enough," replied Marco. "I have seen
them many a time."

"Where?" asked, the girl.
"In New York," said Marco. "Did your orange-tree come from New
York?"
"No," said the girl. "I planted an orange-seed, and it grew from that.
I've got a lemon-tree, too," she added, "but it is a great deal larger. The
lemon-tree grows faster than the orange. My lemon-tree is so large that
I couldn't bring it home very well, so I left it in the mill."
"In the mill?" said Marco. "Are you a miller?"
The girl laughed. She was a very good-humored girl, and did not
appear to be displeased, though it certainly was not quite proper for
Marco to speak in that manner to a stranger. She did not, however,
reply to his question, but said, after a pause,
"Do you know where the Montpelier stage is?"
The proper English meaning of the word stage is a _portion of the
road_, traveled between one resting-place and another. But in the
United States it is used to mean the carriage,--being a sort of
contraction for stage-coach.
"No," said Marco, "we are going in that stage."
"I wish it would come along," said the girl, "for I'm tired of watching
my trunk."
"Where is your trunk?" said Marco.
So the girl pointed out her trunk. It was upon the platform of the piazza,
near those belonging to Forester and Marco. The girl showed Marco
her name, which was Mary Williams, written on a card upon the end of
it.
"I'll watch your trunk," said Marco, "and you can go in and sit down
until the stage comes."

Mary thanked him and went in. She was not, however, quite sure that
her baggage was safe, intrusted thus to the charge of a strange boy, and
so she took a seat near the window, where she could keep an eye upon
it. There was a blue chest near these trunks, which looked like a sailor's
chest, and Marco, being tired of standing, sat down upon this chest. He
had, however, scarcely taken his seat, when he saw a coach with four
horses, coming round a corner. It was driven by a small boy not larger
than Marco. It wheeled up toward the door, and came to a stand. Some
men then put on the sailor's chest and the trunks. Mary