It was a glorious June afternoon, and never did that solitary sheet
of water seem less like an arena of strife and bloodshed. The light
air scarce descended as low as the bed of the lake, hovering over
it, as if unwilling to disturb its deep tranquillity, or to ruffle
its mirror-like surface. Even the forests appeared to be slumbering
in the sun, and a few piles of fleecy clouds had lain for hours
along the northern horizon like fixtures in the atmosphere, placed
there purely to embellish the scene. A few aquatic fowls occasionally
skimmed along the water, and a single raven was visible, sailing high
above the trees, and keeping a watchful eye on the forest beneath
him, in order to detect anything having life that the mysterious
woods might offer as prey.
The reader will probably have observed, that, amidst the frankness
and abruptness of manner which marked the frontier habits of Judith,
her language was superior to that used by her male companions, her
own father included. This difference extended as well to pronunciation
as to the choice of words and phrases. Perhaps nothing so soon
betrays the education and association as the modes of speech;
and few accomplishments so much aid the charm of female beauty
as a graceful and even utterance, while nothing so soon produces
the disenchantment that necessarily follows a discrepancy between
appearance and manner, as a mean intonation of voice, or a vulgar
use of words.
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