thoughts, occasionally stopping the paddle and passing his hand over
his brow, as if to recall some circumstance or idea that constantly
eluded his grasp. In this manner they proceeded until, on turning a
high point of land, the little village of Hillsdale appeared in sight.

Those who see now that handsome town, for the first time, can have but
little idea of its appearance then. But, though the large brick
stores that line its wharves, and the costly mansions of modern
times, clustering one above the other on the hill-sides, and its fine
churches of granite and Portland stone, were not to be seen, yet, it
was even then a place that could not fail to attract attention.

The situation is one of exceeding beauty. Two bright streams--the
Wootúppocut, whose name indicates its character, its meaning being
"clear water," and the Yaupáae, or "margin of a river," which, why it
should be so called it is not as easy to explain, unite their waters
to form the noble Severn. It is a pity that the good taste which
preserved the original names of the two first, had not also retained
the title of the last--the Sakimau, or Sachem, or chief, by which it
was known to the Indians. It is possible the first settlers in the
country thought, that allowing two rivers to retain their aboriginal
appellations was a sufficient tribute to good taste, while they made
the change of name of the third an offering to affection, many of them
having drawn their first breath on the pleasant banks of the English
river Severn. It was on the tongue of land, or promontory, formed by
the confluence of the two rivers that composed the Severn, that the
principal part of the town was situated.

On the promontory facing the south, and rising boldly from the water,
the white-painted village ascended half-way up its sides, its two