Even now I seem to see the group of fishermen , with that old salt in the midst . One fellow sits on the counter , a second bestrides an oil-barrel , a third lolls at his length on a parcel of new cod-lines , and another has planted the tarry seat of his trousers on a heap of salt , which will shortly be sprinkled over a lot of fish . They are a likely set of men . Some have voyaged to the East Indies or the Pacific , and most of them have sailed in Marblehead schooners to Newfoundland ; a few have been no farther than the Middle Banks , and one or two have always fished along the shore ; but , as Uncle Parker used to say , they have all been christened in salt water , and know more than men ever learn in the bushes . A curious figure , by way of contrast , is a fish-dealer from farup country , listening with eyes wide open to narratives that might startle Sindbad the sailor . Be it well with you , my brethren ! Ye are all gone , some to your graves ashore , and others to the depths of ocean ; but my faith is strong that ye are happy ; for whenever I behold your forms , whether in dream or vision , each departed friend is puffing his long-nine , and a mug of the right blackstrap goes round from lip to lip . But where was the mermaid in those delightful times ? At a certain window near the centre of the village appeared a pretty display of gingerbread men and horses , picture-books and ballads , small fish-hooks , pins , needles , sugar-plums , and brass thimbles , articles on which the young fishermen used to expend their money from pure gallantry . What a picture was Susan behind the counter ! A slender maiden , though the child of rugged parents , she had the slimmest of all waists , brown hair curling on her neck , and a complexion rather pale , except when the sea-breeze flushed it . A few freckles became beauty-spots beneath her eyelids . How was it , Susan , that you talked and acted so carelessly , yet always for the best , doing whatever was right in your own eyes , and never once doing wrong in mine , nor shocked a taste that had been morbidly sensitive till now ? And whence had you that happiest gift , of brightening every topic with an unsought gayety , quiet but irresistible , so that even loomy spirits felt your sunshine , and did not shrink from it ? Nature wrought the charm . She made you a frank , simple , kind-hearted , sensible , and mirthful girl . Obeying nature , you did free things without indelicacy , displayed a maiden 's thoughts to every eye , and proved yourself as innocent as naked Eve . It was beautiful to observe , how her simple and happy nature mingled itself with mine . She kindled a domestic fire within my heart , and took up her dwelling there , even in that chill and lonesome cavern hung round with glittering icicles of fancy . She gave me warmth of feeling , while the influence of my mind made her contemplative .
I taught her to love the moonlight hour , when the expanse of the encircled bay was smooth as a great mirror and slept XXXXX a transparent shadow ; while beyond Nahant , the wind rippled the dim ocean into a dreamy brightness , which grew faint afar off , without becoming gloomier .
At as beneath for in of though to while with