s of age, might be found as lithe and
active, in clambering up the lofty summit as if in full possession of
the winged vigor and impulse of twenty-five.

Our traveller, on the present occasion, was apparently a mere youth. He
had probably seen twenty summers--scarcely more. Yet his person was tall
and well developed; symmetrical and manly; rather slight, perhaps, as
was proper to his immaturity; but not wanting in what the backwoodsmen
call _heft_. He was evidently no milksop, though slight; carried himself
with ease and grace; and was certainly not only well endowed with bone
and muscle, but bore the appearance, somehow, of a person not
unpractised in the use of it. His face was manly like his person; not so
round as full, it presented a perfect oval to the eye; the forehead was
broad, high, and intellectual--purely white, probably because so well
shadowed by the masses of his dark brown hair. His eyes were rather
small, but dark and expressive, and derived additional expression from
their large, bushy, overhanging brows, which gave a commanding, and, at
times, a somewhat fierce expression to his countenance. But his mouth
was small, sweet, exquisitely chiselled, and the lips of a ripe, rich
color. His chin, full and decided, was in character with the nobility of
his forehead. The _tout ensemble_ constituted a fine specimen of
masculine beauty, significant at once of character and intelligence.

Our traveller rode a steed, which might be considered, even in the
South, where the passion for fine horses is universal, of the choicest
parentage. He was blooded, and of Arabian, through English, stocks. You
might detect his blood at a glance, even as you did that of his rider.
The beast was large, high, broad-chested, sleek of skin, wiry of limb,
with no excess of fat, and no straggling hair; small ears, a glorious
mane, and a great lively eye. At once docile and full of life, he trod
the earth with the firm pace of an elephant, yet with the ease of an
antelope; moving carelessly as in pastime, and as if he bore no sort of
burden on his back. For that matter he might well do so. His rider,
though well developed, was too slight to be felt by such a creature--and
a small portmanteau carried all his wardrobe. Beyond this he had no
_impedimenta_; and to those accustomed only to the modes of travel in a
more settled and civilized country--with bag and baggage--the traveller
might have appeared--but for a pair of moderately-sized