







world of sweet and fragrant airs cooled by 

 the mountain rivulet and shielded by 

 the mountain summits and the arching 

 umbrage. 



The path vanished at last and nothing 

 remained but the narrow channel of the 

 brook itself, the smooth stones making a 

 precarious and uncertain footing for the 

 adventurous explorer. How soothing was 

 the ceaseless plash of that little stream, 

 fretting its moss-grown banks and dashing 

 in miniature surge against the stones in its 

 path ! What infinite peace reigned in this 

 place, around which the brotherhood of 

 mountains had gathered, to hold it inviolate 

 against all comers ! The great rocks were 

 moss-covered, the steep slopes on either side 

 were faintly flecked with light, and one 

 saw here and there, through the clustered 

 trunks of trees, a gleam of blue sky. 

 Sometimes the brook narrowed to a tiny 

 stream, rushing with impetuous current 

 between the rocky walls that formed its 

 channel; then it spread out shallow and 

 noisy over some broader expanse of white 

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