A DAY IN FRANCONIA 89 



help. And help had come. The man at once 

 killed the spider, and then, little by little, for 

 it was an operation of no small delicacy, un- 

 wound the mesh in which the bird was en- 

 tangled. The lovely creature lay still in his 

 open hand till it had recovered its breath, 

 and then flew away. Who would not be glad 

 to play the good Samaritan in such guise ? 

 As I intimated just now, you may talk with 

 a hundred smartly dressed, smoothly spoken 

 city men without hearing a piece of news half 

 so important or interesting. 



It is five o'clock when I leave the farms 

 and am again skirting the woods. Now I 

 face the sun, the level rays of which trans- 

 figure the road before me till its beauty is 

 beyond all attempt at description. I look at 

 it as for a very few times in my life I have 

 looked at a painted landscape, with unspeak- 

 able enjoyment. The subject is of the sim- 

 plest : a few rods of common grassy road, 

 arched with bright leaves and drenched in 

 sunshine ; but the suggestion is infinite. 

 After this the way brings me into sight of the 

 fairest of level green meadows, with pools of 

 smooth water " water stilled at even " 



