On this side , heralded by a blast of clarions and bugles , appears a train of wagons , conveying all the wild beasts of a caravan ; and on that , a company of summer soldiers , marching from village to village on a festival campaign , attended by the `` brass band . '' Now look at the scene , and it presents an emblem of the mysterious confusion , the apparently insolvable riddle , in which individuals , or the great world itself , seem often to be involved . What miracle shall set all things right again ? But see ! the schooner has thrust her bulky carcass through the chasm ; the draw descends ; horse and foot pass onward , and leave the bridge vacant from end to end . `` And thus , '' muses the toll-gatherer , `` have I found it with all stoppages , even though the universe seemed to be at a stand . '' The sage old man ! Far westward now , the reddening sun throws a broad sheet of splendor across the flood , and to the eyes of distant boatmen gleams brightly among the timbers of the bridge . Strollers come from the town to quaff the freshening breeze . One or two let down long lines , and haul up flapping flounders ? or cunners , or small cod , or perhaps an eel . Others , and fair girls among them , with the flush of the hot day still on their cheeks , bend over the railing and watch the heaps of sea-weed floating upward with the flowing tide . The horses now tramp heavily along the bridge , and wistfully bethink them of their stables . Rest , rest , thou weary world ! for tomorrow 's round of toil and pleasure will be as wearisome as to-day 's has been ; yet both shall bear thee onward a day 's march of eternity . Come ! another log upon the hearth . True , our little parlor is comfortable , especially here , where the old man sits in his old arm-chair ; but on Thanksgiving night the blaze should dance high up the chimney , and send a shower of sparks into the outer darkness . Toss on an armful of those dry oak chips , the last relics of the Mermaid 's knee-timbers , the bones of your namesake , Susan . Higher yet , and clearer be the blaze , till our cottage windows glow the ruddiest in the village , and the light of our household mirth flash far across the bay to Nahant .
And now , come , Susan , come , my children , draw your chairs round me , all XXXXX you .
across along among at for from of on upon with