Pagina 182 di 788

She seemed in search of quiet and solitude; slowly she withdrew

from her companions and went through the wood to a gently sloping

hillock, well shaded by the trees that grew thickly upon it. In

the midst of it was a grey rock; from under the rock a stream

gurgled and spouted, and at once, as if it sought the shade, took

refuge amid the tall, thick greenery, which, watered by it, grew

luxuriantly on all sides. There that swift rogue, swaddled in

grasses and bedded upon leaves, motionless and noiseless,

whispered unseen and almost inaudibly, like a tired child laid in

a cradle, when its mother ties above it the bright green

curtains, and sprinkles poppy leaves beneath its head. It was a

lovely and quiet spot; here Telimena often took refuge, calling

it the Temple of Meditation.