THE STONE-CHAT 99 



The stone-chal that I liad been following on the moor 

 of \ /cofnt<^ dkl not seem in the least to pay any attention 

 to my presence. It continued to liop over the furze and 

 the holly, chirping and fluttering all the time. It took me 

 thus a long distance, stopping now and then as if it were 

 waiting for me, and then starting off again as soon as I got 

 u|) to it. Above, the whke and blue marbled sky was 

 shedding a soft light over the moor. Beyond the pasture- 

 commons, above the foliation of the bushes which bent 

 back and seemed to have been clipped by the seawind 

 as by a hedge-bill, I could perceive the bluish waters 

 of the Ranee ; and on the o[)posite shore, the slate- 

 covered cupola of the church of Saint-Servan, the tower 

 of Solidor, the white villas of Dinard, embowered in 

 verdure; then, behind a rocky point, the elegant spire of 

 Saint-Malo; lastly, quite in the background, the foamy 

 sea, dotted with brown rocks, on which innumerable sails 

 were flying. I was yet listening to the small, solitary bird 

 humming its short song in this immensity, and I felt a 

 sensation of serene joyousness in the presence of these, 

 silent spaces of sky, earth, and air, animated only by 

 the dull chirping of this small creature, at once so wild 

 and so familiar. I envied its vivacity and sprightliness. I 

 watched it as it fluttered above the furze, where the cows 

 were still grazing, half hidden in the verdure. Everything 

 seemed to be living and breathing with the placid uncon- 

 cern of creatures and inanimate things that are sure of 



