n its limpid waters, venerable masses of woody
shade, together with the sport of its happy inhabitants. About a thousand
paces from thence the river precipitates itself over several piles of
rocks, and forms, in its fall, a sheet of water smooth as crystal, but
which breaks at the bottom into frothy surges. Innumerable confused sounds
issue from those tumultuous waters, which, scattered by the winds of the
forest, sometimes sink, sometimes swell, and send forth a hollow tone like
the deep bells of a cathedral. The air, for ever renewed by the circulation
of the waters, fans the banks of that river with freshness, and leaves a
degree of verdure, notwithstanding the summer heats, rarely found in this
island, even upon the summits of the mountains.

"At some distance is a rock, placed far enough from the cascade to prevent
the ear from being deafened by the noise of its waters, and sufficiently
near for the enjoyment of their view, their coolness, and their murmurs.
Thither, amidst the heats of summer, Madame de la Tour, Margaret, Virginia,
Paul, and myself sometimes repaired, and dined beneath the shadow of the
rock. Virginia, who always directed her most ordinary actions to the good
of others, never ate of any fruit without planting the seed or kernel in
the ground. 'From this,' said she, 'trees will come, which will give their
fruit to some traveller, or at least to some bird.' One day having eaten of
the papaw fruit, at the foot of that rock she planted the seeds. Soon after
several papaws sprung up, amongst which was one that yielded fruit. This
tree had risen but a little from the ground at the time of Virginia's
departure; but its growth being rapid, in the space of two years it had
gained twenty feet of height, and the upper part of its stem was encircled
with several layers of ripe fruit. Paul having wandered to that spot, was
delighted to see that this lofty tree had arisen from the small seed
planted by his beloved friend; but that emotion instantly gave place to a
deep melancholy, at this evidence of her long absence. The objects which we
see habitually do not remind us of the rapidity of life; they decline
insensibly with ourselves; but those which we behold again, after having
for some years lost sight of them, impress us powerfully with the idea of
that swiftness with which the tide of our days flows on. Paul was no less
overwhelmed and affected at the sight of this great papaw tree, loaded with
fruit, than is