whilethevividgreenofthegrassinthevalleywasreflectedmoreorlessuponallobjectsfromthecurtainofvaporthatstillhungoverhead，asiflothtotakeitstotaldeparturefromascenesoenchantinglybeautiful。
ThelittlevaleintowhichIthuspeereddownfromunderthefogcanopycouldnothavebeenmorethanfourhundredyardslong；whileinbreadthitvariedfromfiftytoonehundredandfiftyorperhapstwohundred。Itwasmostnarrowatitsnorthernextremity，openingoutasittendedsouthwardly，butwithnoverypreciseregularity。
Thewidestportionwaswithineightyyardsofthesouthernextreme。
Theslopeswhichencompassedthevalecouldnotfairlybecalledhills，unlessattheirnorthernface。Hereaprecipitousledgeofgranitearosetoaheightofsomeninetyfeet；and，asIhavementioned，thevalleyatthispointwasnotmorethanfiftyfeetwide；butasthevisiterproceededsouthwardlyfromthecliff，hefoundonhisrighthandandonhisleft，declivitiesatoncelesshigh，lessprecipitous，andlessrocky。All，inaword，slopedandsoftenedtothesouth；andyetthewholevalewasengirdledbyeminences，moreorlesshigh，exceptattwopoints。OneoftheseI
havealreadyspokenof。Itlayconsiderablytothenorthofwest，andwaswherethesettingsunmadeitsway，asIhavebeforedescribed，intotheamphitheatre，throughacleanlycutnaturalcleftinthegraniteembankment；thisfissuremighthavebeentenyardswideatitswidestpoint，sofarastheeyecouldtraceit。Itseemedtoleadup，uplikeanaturalcauseway，intotherecessesofunexploredmountainsandforests。Theotheropeningwasdirectlyatthesouthernendofthevale。Here，generally，theslopeswerenothingmorethangentleinclinations，extendingfromeasttowestaboutonehundredandfiftyyards。Inthemiddleofthisextentwasadepression，levelwiththeordinaryfloorofthevalley。Asregardsvegetation，aswellasinrespecttoeverythingelse，thescenesoftenedandslopedtothesouth。Tothenorthonthecraggyprecipiceafewpacesfromthevergeupsprangthemagnificenttrunksofnumeroushickories，blackwalnuts，andchestnuts，interspersedwithoccasionaloak，andthestronglateralbranchesthrownoutbythewalnutsespecially，spreadfarovertheedgeofthecliff。Proceedingsouthwardly，theexplorersaw，atfirst，thesameclassoftrees，butlessandlessloftyandSalvatorishincharacter；thenhesawthegentlerelm，succeededbythesassafrasandlocusttheseagainbythesofterlinden，red-bud，catalpa，andmapletheseyetagainbystillmoregracefulandmoremodestvarieties。Thewholefaceofthesoutherndeclivitywascoveredwithwildshrubberyaloneanoccasionalsilverwilloworwhitepoplarexcepted。Inthebottomofthevalleyitselfforitmustbeborneinmindthatthevegetationhithertomentionedgrewonlyonthecliffsorhillsides