civilised life, his former state and that of
his country have vanished from his memory; or if sometimes he bestows a
reflection on its original aspect, the mind seems to be carried back to
a period of time much more remote than it really is. One advantage at
least results from having lived in a state of society ever on the change
and always for the better, that it doubles the retrospect of life. With
me at any rate it has had that effect. Did not the definite number of my
years teach me to the contrary, I should think myself at least one
hundred years old instead of fifty. The case is said to be widely
different with those who have passed their lives in cities or ancient
settlements where, from year to year, the same unchanging aspect of
things presents itself.

"One prominent feature of the wilderness is its solitude. Those who
plunged into the bosom of this forest left behind them not only the busy
hum of men, but of domesticated animal life generally. The solitude of
the night was interrupted only by the howl of the wolf, the melancholy
moan of the ill-boding owl or the shriek of the frightful panther. Even
the faithful dog, the only steadfast companion of man among the brute
creation, partook of the silence of the desert; the discipline of his
master forbade him to bark or move but in obedience to his command, and
his native sagacity soon taught the propriety of obedience to this
severe government.

"The day was, if possible, more solitary than the night. The noise of
the wild turkey, the croaking of the raven, or the woodpecker tapping
the hollow beech tree, did not much enliven the dreary scene. The
various tribes of singing birds are not inhabitants of the desert. They
are not carnivorous and therefore must be fed from the labors of man. At
any rate they did not exist in this country at its first settlement.

"Let the imagination of the reader pursue the track of the adventurer
into the solitary wilderness, bending his course towards the setting sun
over undulating hills, under the shade of large forest trees, and wading
through the rank weeds and grass which then covered the earth. Now he
views from the top of a hill the winding course of a creek whose streams
he wishes to explore. Doubtful of its course and of his own, he
ascertains the cardinal points of north and south by the thickness of
the moss and bark on the north side of the ancient trees. Now descending
into a valley, he presages his approach to a r