runners--the whole making what, in New England phrase, is termed a
_jumper_, constituted his sleigh. And this vehicle was drawn by a long
switch-tailed young pony, whose unsteady gait, as he briskly ambled
along the street, pricking up his ears and veering about at every new
object by the way-side, showed him to be but imperfectly broken. The
owner of this rude contrivance for locomotion was evidently some young
farmer from the neighboring country. But although his dress and mode
of travelling seemed thus to characterize him, yet there was that in
his personal appearance, as plain as was his homespun garb, which was
calculated to command at once both attention and respect. And as he
now rose and stood firmly planted in his sleigh, occasionally looking
back to watch the motions of the team behind him, with his long,
toga-like woollen frock drawn snugly over his finely-sloping shoulders
and well-expanded bust, and closely girt about at the waist by a
neatly-knotted Indian belt, while the flowing folds below streamed
gracefully aside in the wind, he displayed one of those compact,
shapely figures, which the old Grecian sculptors so delighted to
delineate. And in addition to these advantages of figure, he possessed
an extremely fine set of features, which were shown off effectively by
the profusion of short, jetty locks, that curled naturally around his
white temples and his bold, high forehead.

"Miss McRea--Jane," said Jones, turning round to the amiable girl, and
tapping her on the shoulder, with the confiding smile and tender
playfulness of the accepted lover, as he was,--"Jane, you said, I
think, that you should like to get a sight of that spunky opponent of
Mr. Peters, whom we were talking of a little while since--did you not?"

"O, yes, yes, to be sure I did," replied the other briskly; "but why
that question, just at this time?"