There  was  no  need  of  haste,  it  was  plain,  and,  moreover,  the
getting  of  a  letter  was  a  thing  to  be  treated  with  some  for
mality.  For,  except  as  Uncle  Job  or  Aunt  Betty  may  have
written  me,  I  had  never  received  such  a  thing  before  in  all  my
life.  The  day,  too,  was  one  to  invite  idleness,  and  of  lovers
more  especially.  Above  our  heads  great  clouds,  white  as
snow,  floated  slowly  across  the  broad  expanse,  and  on  the
bosom  of  the  majestic  river,  a  ripple  here  and  a  calm  there,
or  maybe  a  bit  of  shadow,  added  to  the  placid  beauty  of  the
surroundings.  About  us  soft  winds  stirred  the  leaves  of  the
listening  hawthorns,  and  from  out  the  thicket  beyond  the  road
a  thrush,  awakened  to  life  by  our  close  proximity,  called  in
impassioned  notes  for  its  absent  mate.
