Over the wide scene there was
a general gloom; but there was a continual vicissitude of bright sunshine
flitting over it, now resting for a brief space on portions of the
heights, now flooding the valleys with green brightness, now making out
distinctly each dwelling, and the hotels, and then two small brick
churches of the distant village, denoting its prosperity, while all
around seemed under adverse fortunes. But we, who stood so elevated
above mortal things, and saw so wide and far, could see the sunshine of
prosperity departing from one spot and rolling towards another, so that
we could not think it much matter which spot were sunny or gloomy at any
one moment.
The top of this Hoosic Mountain is a long ridge, marked on the county map
as two thousand one hundred and sixty feet above the sea; on this summit
is a valley, not very deep, but one or two miles wide, in which is the
town of L------. Here there are respectable farmers, though it is a
rough, and must be a bleak place. The first house, after reaching the
summit, is a small, homely tavern.
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