Nestling in a grove of primeval pines that sentinelled the placid,
shining waters of the Don stood a low, wide-eaved cottage. It was
completely clad in ivy; and upon the eastern side there was a dull
copper tinge through the matted masses of the Virginia creeper.
Many of the earlier flowers had faded; but the pinks and the poppies
were still rich in blood; and the sunflower sturdily held up its
yellow face like 'a wizened sorcerer of old,' as a fair and gifted
friend of my acquaintance puts it. The cottage and the grounds about
it were the property of an English gentleman of taste and means. The
nearest dwelling had an air of luxury, and round about it stretched
wide areas of land from which the harvest of wheat and oats had been
taken. Here and there in the distance a group of boys might be seen
with their fishing rods in their hands; for at that day the Don
stream was not foul by the drainage of fields, and shrunken from the
downpour of the sun, and from the loss of its sheltering forest.
Trout and often salmon-trout went into its quiet retreats in the face
of the spring freshets; and many a congregation of foam bubbles did
it hold upon its breast to screen the greedy, vigilant speckled trout.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25