were, for the most part, easy of access. We had, indeed, all given
him our advice and assistance, in order to accomplish this end. He had
conducted one path entirely round the valley, and various branches from
it led from the circumference to the centre. He had drawn some advantage
from the most rugged spots, and had blended, in harmonious union, level
walks with the inequalities of the soil, and trees which grow wild with
the cultivated varieties. With that immense quantity of large pebbles
which now block up these paths, and which are scattered over most of the
ground of this island, he formed pyramidal heaps here and there, at
the base of which he laid mould, and planted rose-bushes, the Barbadoes
flower-fence, and other shrubs which love to climb the rocks. In a short
time the dark and shapeless heaps of stones he had constructed were
covered with verdure, or with the glowing tints of the most beautiful
flowers. Hollow recesses on the borders of the streams shaded by the
overhanging boughs of aged trees, formed rural grottoes, impervious
to the rays of the sun, in which you might enjoy a refreshing coolness
during the mid-day heats. One path led to a clump of forest trees, in
the centre of which sheltered from the wind, you found a fruit-tree,
laden with produce. Here was a corn-field; there, an orchard; from one
avenue you had a view of the cottages; from another, of the inaccessible
summit of the mountain. Beneath one tufted bower of gum trees,
interwoven with lianas, no object whatever could be perceived: while the
point of the adjoining rock, jutting out from the mountain, commanded
a view of the whole enclosure, and of the distant ocean, where,
occasionally, we could discern the distant sail, arriving from Europe,
or bound thither. On this rock the two families frequently met in the
evening, and enjoyed in silence the freshness of the flowers, the gentle
murmurs of the fountain, and the last blended harmonies of light and
shade.