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Hoaryhead, and the Vallies Below, Or, Truth Through Fiction
Hoaryhead and the Vallies Below Or Truth Through Fiction Author:Jacob Abbott Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: GILBERT, THE SEQUEL,. It was Sabbath morning. The winter had glided away, and April was near, — and yet the snow appeared to have been very little diminish... more »ed. The sun at noon had thawed and settled it, day after day, for many weeks, until at last it had become so compact that every morning, after a frosty night, it presented a very firm and solid surface to walk upon. In fact there is perhaps no surface so pleasant to the foot as this consolidated snow. All minor inequalities and roughnesses are covered and obliterated, and the smooth white flooring extends in levels or in gentle undulations, every way before you. Then there is a crispy roughness in the surface which holds the foot by its friction, and almost has the effect of throwing the walker forward by a force of its own. There seems to be an elasticity, — a rebound, which makes every step a luxury. Then there are above arid around, all the exhilarating influences of a spring morning; — the calmness, the sunshine, the glitter, the hum, and all those indescribable sensations with which we witness the quiet and gentle dissolution of the icy thraldom in which nature has so long been held. Gilbert stood on the surface of the snow in front of his mother's log-house. There was a broad icy path which led from the door out to the road; on each side of this path the snow swelled and spread on every side. From one corner of the house a range of small logs appeared above the snow, extending end to end, in a line out towards the road. They were the upper tier in the log-fence, — five feet high, — the lower portion being buried and concealed. On the opposite side of the house, was a sled road leading into a spacious yard, with a little barn and shed at the side of it. A large pile of woodin very long and large logs lay in the mid...« less