The Spy | Page 7

of
the female suddenly arrested the movement.
"Is this, then, the dwelling of Harvey Birch?" he inquired, in an
involuntary manner, apparently checking himself, as he was about to
utter more.
"Why, one can hardly say it is his dwelling," replied the other, drawing
a hurried breath, like one eager to answer; "he is never in it, or so
seldom, that I hardly remember his face, when he does think it worth
his while to show it to his poor old father and me. But it matters little to
me, I'm sure, if he ever comes back again, or not;--turn in the first gate
on your left;--no, I care but little, for my part, whether Harvey ever
shows his face again or not--not I"--and she closed the door abruptly on
the horseman, who gladly extended his ride a half mile farther, to
obtain lodgings which promised both more comfort and greater
security.
Sufficient light yet remained to enable the traveler to distinguish the
improvements [Footnote: Improvements is used by the Americans to

express every degree of change in converting land from its state of
wilderness to that of cultivation. In this meaning of the word, it is an
improvement to fell the trees; and it is valued precisely by the supposed
amount of the cost.] which had been made in the cultivation, and in the
general appearance of the grounds around the building to which he was
now approaching. The house was of stone, long, low, and with a small
wing at each extremity. A piazza, extending along the front, with neatly
turned pillars of wood, together with the good order and preservation of
the fences and outbuildings, gave the place an air altogether superior to
the common farmhouses of the country. After leading his horse behind
an angle of the wall, where it was in some degree protected from the
wind and rain, the traveler threw his valise over his arm, and knocked
loudly at the entrance of the building for admission. An aged black
soon appeared; and without seeming to think it necessary, under the
circumstances, to consult his superiors,--first taking one prying look at
the applicant, by the light of the candle in his hand,--he acceded to the
request for accommodations. The traveler was shown into an extremely
neat parlor, where a fire had been lighted to cheer the dullness of an
easterly storm and an October evening. After giving the valise into the
keeping of his civil attendant, and politely repeating his request to the
old gentleman, who arose to receive him, and paying his compliments
to the three ladies who were seated at work with their needles, the
stranger commenced laying aside some of the outer garments which he
had worn in his ride.
On taking an extra handkerchief from his neck, and removing a cloak
of blue cloth, with a surtout of the same material, he exhibited to the
scrutiny of the observant family party, a tall and extremely graceful
person, of apparently fifty years of age. His countenance evinced a
settled composure and dignity; his nose was straight, and approaching
to Grecian; his eye, of a gray color, was quiet, thoughtful, and rather
melancholy; the mouth and lower part of his face being expressive of
decision and much character. His dress, being suited to the road, was
simple and plain, but such as was worn by the higher class of his
countrymen; he wore his own hair, dressed in a manner that gave a
military air to his appearance, and which was rather heightened by his
erect and conspicuously graceful carriage. His whole appearance was

so impressive and so decidedly that of a gentleman, that as he finished
laying aside the garments, the ladies arose from their seats, and,
together with the master of the house, they received anew, and returned
the complimentary greetings which were again offered.
The host was by several years the senior of the traveler, and by his
manner, dress, and everything around him, showed he had seen much
of life and the best society. The ladies were, a maiden of forty, and two
much younger, who did not seem, indeed, to have reached half those
years. The bloom of the elder of these ladies had vanished, but her eyes
and fine hair gave an extremely agreeable expression to her
countenance; and there was a softness and an affability in her
deportment, that added a charm many more juvenile faces do not
possess. The sisters, for such the resemblance between the younger
females denoted them to be, were in all the pride of youth, and the
roses, so eminently the property of the Westchester fair, glowed on
their cheeks, and lighted their deep blue eyes with that luster which
gives so much pleasure to the beholder, and which indicates so much