It was a fine though a windy and cold afternoon; the lights and shadows were driving across the broad upland and meadows.
"This is a fine arable country," remarked Mr. Carleton.
"Capital, sir,--capital, for many miles round, if we were not so far from a market. I was one of the first that broke ground in this township,--one of the very first settlers--I've seen the rough and the smooth of it, and I never had but one mind about it from the first. All this--as far as you can see--I cleared myself; most of it with my own hand."
"That recollection must attach you strongly to the place, I should think, sir."
"Hum--perhaps I cared too much for it," he replied, "for it is taken away from me. Well--it don't matter now."
"No sir!--it _was_ mine, a great many years; but I was obliged to part with it, two years ago, to a scoundrel of a fellow--McGowan up here--he got an advantage over me. I can't take care of myself any more as I used to do, and I don't find that other people deal by me just as I could wish--"
He was silent for a moment and then went on,--
"Yes sir! when I first set myself down here, or a little further that way my first house was,--a pretty rough house, too,--there wa'n't two settlers beside within something like ten miles round.--I've seen the whole of it cleared, from the cutting of the first forest trees till this day."
"You have seen the nation itself spring up within that time," remarked his guest.
"Not exactly--that question of our nationality was settled a little before I came here. I was born rather too late to see the whole of that play--I saw the best of it though--boys were men in those days. My father was in the thick of it from beginning to end."
"Ho yes, sir! he and every child he had that wasn't a girl--there wasn't a man of the name that wa'n't on the right side. I was in the army myself when I was fifteen. I was nothing but a fifer--but I tell you sir! there wasn't a general officer in the country that played his part with a prouder heart than I did mine!"
"And was that the general spirit of the ranks?"
"Not altogether," replied the old gentleman, passing his hand several times abstractedly over his white hair, a favourite gesture with him,--"not exactly that--there was a good deal of mixture of different materials, especially in this state; and where the feeling wasn't pretty strong it was no wonder if it got tired out; but the real stuff, the true Yankee blood, was pretty firm! Ay, and some of the rest! There was a good deal to try men in those days. Sir, I have seen many a time when I had nothing to dine upon but my fife, and it was more than that could do to keep me from feeling very empty!"