



Chapter II 



UNDER THE APPLE BOUGHS 



&*~ 



OR weeks past I have 



been conscious of 

 some mystery in the 

 air; there have been fleeting 

 signs of secret communication 

 between earth and sky, as if the 

 hidden powers were in friendly 

 league and some great concerted movement 

 were on foot. There have been soft lights 

 playing upon the tender grass on the lawn, 

 and caressing those delicate hues through 

 which each individual tree and shrub searches 

 for its summer foliage ; the mornings have 

 slipped so quietly in through the eastern 

 gates, and the afternoons have vanished so 

 softly across the western hills, that one 

 could not but suspect a plot to avert atten- 

 tion and lull watchful eyes into negligence 

 while all things were made ready for the 

 moment of revelation. At times a subdued 

 light has filled the broad arch of heaven, 

 20 



