THROUGH LIBRARY WINDOWS 257 



forth to secure. There lay the quiet valleys in 

 the delicate haze of a dreamy and ideal August 

 day. The contour of the mountain range at 

 this point was peculiar and admitted a full 

 south and east view, and on the west they were 

 pushed quite back and much lower for a mile or 

 so towards the south. There had been in the 

 remote past a terrific conflict of glacier with 

 glacier and they had plowed about wildly and 

 left a most generous plain. Through its centre 

 rolled zig-zag the mountain stream, now hid- 

 den by willows and alders that lined its banks, 

 now open to view and flashing back a cheery sil- 

 very light. A litde village of white painted 

 houses snuggled into this hollowed out space 

 beautified with a profusion of splendid elms 

 and maples most thickly planted near the 

 steepled church. Then out and along the lines 

 of leading roads were solitary farmhouses and 

 their belongings, the farms checked off into 

 grass and corn and oat and potato patches. 

 Clumps of trees stood apart, a sugar bush or 

 wood lot or orchard; the roads winding with 

 new interest along easiest ways, crossing each 

 other and running on and out to adjoining vil- 

 lages. 



Various sounds came up to me as floating 

 music bringing the clustering memories of other 



