It was not to be descried afar, for it lay below the level, and the oaks and other trees of shelter scarcely topped the narrow comb.

There was no canyon, such as are--and some of them known over all the world--both to the north and south of it.

The Blue River did not owe its birth to any fierce convulsion, but sparkled on its cheerful way without impending horrors.

Standing here as a child, and thinking, from the manner of my father, that strong men never wept nor owned the conquest of emotion, I felt sometimes a fool's contempt for the gushing transport of brave men.

For instance, I have seen a miner, or a tamer of horses, or a rough fur-hunter, or (perhaps the bravest of all) a man of science and topography, jaded, worn, and nearly dead with drought and dearth and choking, suddenly, and beyond all hope, strike on this buried Eden.