About the Hut itself, the appearance of change was not so manifest.  Captain Willoughby had caused it to be constructed originally, as he intended to preserve it, and if formed no part of his plan to cover it with tawdry colours.  There it stood, brown above, and grey beneath, as wood or stone was the material, with a widely projecting roof.  It had no piazzas, or stoups, and was still without external windows, one range excepted.  The loops had been cut, but it was more for the benefit of lighting the garrets, than for any other reason, all of them being glazed, and serving the end for which they had been pierced.  The gates remained precisely in the situation in which they were, when last presented to the eye of the reader!  There they stood, each leaning against the wall on its own side of the gateway, the hinges beginning to rust, by time and exposure.  Ten years had not produced a day of sufficient leisure in which to hang them:  though Mrs. Willoughby frequently spoke of the necessity of doing so, in the course of the first summer.  Even she had got to be so familiarized to her situation, and so accustomed to seeing the leaves where they stood, that she now regarded them as a couple of sleeping lions in stone, or as characteristic ornaments, rather than as substantial defences to the entrance of the dwelling.

The interior of the Hut, however, had undergone many alterations.  The western half had been completed, and handsome rooms had been fitted up for guests and inmates of the family, in the portion of the edifice occupied by the latter.  Additional comforts had been introduced, and, the garners, cribs and lodgings of the labourers having been transferred to the skirts of the forest, the house was more strictly and exclusively the abode of a respectable and well-regulated family.  In the rear, too, a wing had been thrown along the verge of the cliff, completely enclosing the court.  This wing, which overhung the rivulet, and had, not only a most picturesque site, but a most picturesque and lovely view, now contained the library, parlour and music-room, together with other apartments devoted to the uses of the ladies, during the day; the old portions of the house that had once been similarly occupied being now converted into sleeping apartments.  The new wing was constructed entirely of massive squared logs, so as to render it bullet-proof, here being no necessity for a stone foundation, standing, as it did, on the verge of a cliff some forty feet in height.  This was the part of the edifice which had external windows, the elevation removing it from the danger of inroads, or hostile shot, while the air and view were both grateful and desirable.  Some extra attention had been paid to the appearance of the meadows on this side of the Knoll, and the captain had studiously kept their skirts, as far as the eye could see from the windows, in virgin forest; placing the barns, cabins, and other detached buildings, so far south as to be removed from view.  Beulah