All Electronic Books

Long ago the village had disappeared. Long ago the spacious southern
homes, with their walled gardens of box and roses and aromatic shrubs in
spring, had receded into the shadowy memories of those whom the modern
city pointed out, with playful solicitude, as "the oldest inhabitants."
None except the very oldest inhabitants could remember those friendly
and picturesque streets, deeply shaded by elms and sycamores; those
hospitable houses of gray stucco or red brick which time had subdued to
a delicate rust-colour; those imposing Doric columns, or quaint Georgian
doorways; those grass-grown brick pavements, where old ladies in
perpetual mourning gathered for leisurely gossip; those wrought-iron
gates that never closed; those unshuttered windows, with small gleaming
panes, which welcomed the passer-by in winter; or those gardens, steeped
in the fragrance of mint and old-fashioned flowers, which allured the
thirsty visitor in summer. These things had vanished years ago; yet
beneath the noisy commercial city the friendly village remained.


Pages:
74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98