Thus there is not only the crisis when the spirit ceases to
inspire and expand the body, marked by a fresh mound in the
churchyard, but there is also a crisis when the body ceases to
take up room as such in nature, marked by a fainter depression in
the earth.
We sat awhile to rest us here upon the brink of the western bank,
surrounded by the glossy leaves of the red variety of the
mountain laurel, just above the head of Wicasuck Island, where we
could observe some scows which were loading with clay from the
opposite shore, and also overlook the grounds of the farmer, of
whom I have spoken, who once hospitably entertained us for a
night. He had on his pleasant farm, besides an abundance of the
beach-plum, or _Prunus littoralis_, which grew wild, the Canada
plum under cultivation, fine Porter apples, some peaches, and
large patches of musk and water melons, which he cultivated for
the Lowell market. Elisha's apple-tree, too, bore a native
fruit, which was prized by the family. He raised the blood
peach, which, as he showed us with satisfaction, was more like
the oak in the color of its bark and in the setting of its
branches, and was less liable to break down under the weight of
the fruit, or the snow, than other varieties.
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