Peas and beans covered with snow adjoined a
heart-breaking road which led up to a long, winding ascent through a
glade overhung by frost-covered hedgerows, where the sun came gently
through and breathed the sweet coming of the spring. From midway up the
mountain the view of the plain below and the fine range of hills
separating me from the capital was one of exceeding loveliness, the
undisturbed white of the snow and frost sparkling in the sunshine
contrasting most strikingly with the darkened waves of billowy green
opposite, with a background of sharp-edged mountains, whose summits were
only now and again discernible in the waning morning mist. Snow lay deep
in the crevices. My frozen path was treacherous for walking, but the
dry, crisp air gave me a gusto and energy known only in high latitudes.
In a pass cleared out from the rock we halted and gained breath for the
second ascent, surmounted by a dismantled watch-tower. It has long since
fallen into disuse, the sound tiles from the roof having been
appropriated for covering other habitable dwellings near by, where one
may rest for tea. The road, paved in some places, worn from the side of
the mountain in others, was suspended above narrow gorges, an entrance
to a part of the country which had the aspect of northern regions.
Pages:
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316