hick foliage
that threw its shadow on the grass as vividly as a painting. All was
changed! It is true she now saw her husband, but she had but little more
of his society; his mind and time were wholly engrossed; he came often,
and certainly did not, as formerly, confine his visits to the Sabbath.

All went on with wonderful rapidity; story rose upon story, till it
seemed as if the new manufactory, with its windows and abutments, was
destined to become another Babel. When Charlotte came to Clyde, she
gazed with astonishment. "All this," said she to Howard, "is the project
of a speculator! Grown men now-a-days remind me of the story of the boy
who planted his bean at night, and went out in the morning to see how it
grew; he found it had nearly reached the chamber windows; he went out the
next morning, and it was up to the eaves of the house; on the third
morning, it had shot up to the clouds, and he descried a castle, or a
manufactory, I don't know which, on the top of it. Then it was high time
to scale it; so up, up, he went, and when he arrived at the building, he
put his foot into it, and then he perceived it was made of vapor; and
down came bean, castle, and boy, headlong, in _three seconds_, though it
had taken _three whole days_ to complete the work."

"You must tell your story to my brother," said Howard.

"No," replied Charlotte; "he would not profit by it; but I will tell it
to my children, and teach them to train their beans in the good
old-fashioned way, near the ground."

Thus passed the autumn at Clyde; that period which every reflecting mind
enjoys as a season of contemplation; that period when our New England
woods assume every variety of color, and shine forth with a splendor that
indicates decay. Still the two families had much enjoyment together; the
health of Frances and little Charlotte had decidedly improved; but when
the leaves began to fall, and the wind to whistle through the branches,
they quitted Clyde and returned to the city. Their new house was not
ready for them, and they were obliged to take lodgings at one of the
hotels.

Mr. Draper met Dr. B., their friend and physician, in his walks, and
begged him to call and see his wife. "I rejoice to say," said he, "that
her health does not require any medical advice; she is quite well."

Probably Dr. B. thought otherwise, for he suggested the advantage that
both she and the little girl might derive from passing the winter in a
warm cli