--to use a phrase peculiarly applicable to its position--almost
immediately at that point where the terrace made an angle with the
cliff, being defended by a stone parapet, through which an iron wicket
opened upon a flight of rough-hewn steps, that terminated in a pathway
leading down to the river.

The main building was of stone, consisting of one lofty story, and
capped with a steep roof, which curved so far over the front as to
furnish a broad rustic porch that rested almost upon the ground. The
slim pillars of this porch were concealed by lattice-work, which was
overgrown with creeping vines; and the windows of the contiguous rooms,
on either side of a spacious hall, opened to the floor, and looked out
upon the lawn and upon the quiet landscape far beyond. One of these
apartments was also accessible through the eastern gable, by a private
doorway shaded by a light veranda, and was appropriated by Lindsay to
his library. This portal seemed almost to hang over the rock, having but
the breadth of the terrace between it and the declivity, and showing no
other foreground than the parapet, which was here a necessary defence
against the cliff, and from which the romantic dell of the river was
seen in all its wildness.

There were other portions of the mansion constructed in the same style
of architecture, united to this in such a manner as to afford an
uninterrupted communication, and to furnish a range of chambers for the
use of the family. A rustic effect was everywhere preserved. Stacks of
chimneys shot up in grotesque array; and heavy, old-fashioned windows
looked quaintly down from the peaked roof. Choice exotics, planted in
boxes, were tastefully arranged upon the lawn; cages with singing-birds
were suspended against the wall and the whole mass of building,
extending along the verge of the cliff, so as to occupy the entire
diameter of the semicircle, perhaps one hundred and fifty feet, sorted
by its simplicity of costume, if I may so speak, and by its tidy beauty,
with the close-shaven grass-plot and its trim shades.

Above the whole, flinging their broad and gnarled arms amongst the
chimney tops, and forming a pleasing contrast with the artificial
embellishments of this spot, some ancient oaks, in primeval
magnificence, reared their time-honored trunks, and no less sheltered
the habitation from the noon-tide heats, than they afforded an asylum to
the ringdove and his mate, or to the countless travellers of the air