In this
manner Richard descended the mountain; the bells ringing and his tongue going,
until they entered the village, when the whole attention of the driver was
devoted to a display of his horsemanship, to the admiration of all the gaping
women and children, who thronged the windows, to witness the arrival of their
landlord and his daughter.
 

                                   Chapter V

 »Nathaniel's coat, sir, was not fully made,
 And Gabriel's pumps were all unfinish'd i' th' heel;
 There was no link to colour Peter's hat,
 And Walter's dagger was not come from sheathing:
 There were none fine, but Adam, Ralph and Gregory.«
                                           The Taming of the Shrew, IV.i.132-36.
 
After winding along the side of the mountain, the road, on reaching the gentle
declivity which lay at the base of the hill, turned at a right angle to its
former course, and shot down an inclined plane, directly into the village of
Templeton. The rapid little stream that we have already mentioned, was crossed
by a bridge of hewn timber, which manifested, by its rude construction, and the
unnecessary size of its framework, both the value of labour, and the abundance
of materials. This little torrent, whose dark waters gushed over the limestones
that lined its bottom, was nothing less than one of the many sources of the
Susquehanna; a river, to which the Atlantic herself, has extended an arm in
welcome. It was at this point, that the powerful team of Mr. Jones, brought him
up to the more sober steeds of our travellers. A small hill was risen, and
Elizabeth found herself, at once, amid the incongruous dwellings of the village.
The street was of the ordinary width, notwithstanding the eye might embrace in
one view, thousands, and tens of thousands of acres, that were yet tenanted only
by the beasts of the forest. But such had been the will of her father, and such
had also met the wishes of his followers. To them, the road, that made the most
rapid approaches to the condition of the old, or, as they expressed it, the down
countries, was the most pleasant; and surely nothing could look more like
civilization, than a city, even if it lay in a wilderness! The width of the
street, for so it was called, might have been one hundred feet; but the track
for the sleighs was much more limited. On either side of the highway, were piled
huge heaps of logs that were daily increasing rather than