country-life in its best aspects. There is
hardly a position in our country, now, so isolated but one may 'follow
the arts' if one chooses, foreign artists and accomplished exiles
pervading our country parts. Mary has availed herself of the facilities
thus afforded to cultivate a musical talent and temperament, and acquire
enough of the foreign languages to open their literature to her.
Strangers do not call Mary Langdon handsome; but her friends do, and
they marvel that her fair oval face, her spirited expression, tempered
by the sweetest mouth and most pearly and expressive teeth, do not
strike all eyes. And then she is so buoyant, so free of step and frank
of speech, that while others are slowly winding their way to your
affections, she springs into your heart.

With due respect to seniority, we should have presented Mr. Langdon
before his daughter. On being called on for his journal, he said he was
not 'such a confounded fool as to keep one for any portion of his life.
He should as soon think of crystallizing soap-bubbles. He had dotted
down a few memoranda in his memorandum book, as warnings to future
travelers, and we were welcome to them; though he thought we were too
mountain-mad to profit by them, if indeed any body ever profited by any
body else's experience!' The fact was, the dear old gentleman had left
home in a very unquiet state of mind. He hated at all times leaving his
home, abounding in comforts. He detested travel under what he termed
'alleviating circumstances.' He was rather addicted to growling; this
English instinct came over with his progenitor in the Mayflower, and
half a dozen generations had not sufficed to subdue it. But Mr.
Langdon's 'bark is worse than his bite.' In truth his 'bite' is like
that of a teething child's, resulting from a derangement of sweet and
loving elements.

We found our old friend's memoranda so strongly resembling the grumbling
of our traveling cousins from over the water, that we think it may be
edifying to print it in a parallel column, as a per contra, illustrating
the effects of the lights or shadows that emanate from our own minds.
Providence provides the banquet; its relish or disrelish depends on the
appetite of the guest.

But to Mary Langdon's letter, which, as it was begun before she left
home, bears its first date there:

'LAKE-SIDE, _28th September_.--My Dear Sue: I have not much more to tell
you than my last contained. Carl Heiner left our neighborhood