A descendant of Mark and Martha is, at this hour, the proprietor of the
estate on which so many of the moving incidents of our simple tale were
enacted. Even the building which was the second habitation of his
ancestor, is in part standing, though additions and improvements have
greatly changed its form. The orchards, which in 1675 were young and
thrifty, are now old and decaying. The trees have yielded their character
for excellence, to those varieties of the fruit which the soil and the
climate have since made known to the inhabitants. Still they stand, for it
is known that fearful scenes occurred beneath their shades, and there is a
deep moral interest attached to their existence.
The ruins of the block-house, though much dilapidated and crumbling, are
also, visible. At their foot is the last abode of all the Heathcotes who
have lived and died in that vicinity, for near two centuries. The graves
of those of later times are known by tablets of marble: but nearer to the
ruin are many, whose monuments, half-concealed in the grass, are cut in
the common coarse free-stone of the country.
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