The odor of the tepid water; the scent of the flowers, and the breath
of the caverns which filled the lonely place gave Raphael a sensation
that was almost enjoyment. Silence reigned in majesty over these
woods, which possibly are unknown to the tax-collector; but the
barking of a couple of dogs broke the stillness all at once; the cows
turned their heads towards the entrance of the valley, showing their
moist noses to Raphael, stared stupidly at him, and then fell to
browsing again. A goat and her kid, that seemed to hang on the side of
the crags in some magical fashion, capered and leapt to a slab of
granite near to Raphael, and stayed there a moment, as if to seek to
know who he was. The yapping of the dogs brought out a plump child,
who stood agape, and next came a white-haired old man of middle
height. Both of these two beings were in keeping with the
surroundings, the air, the flowers, and the dwelling. Health appeared
to overflow in this fertile region; old age and childhood thrived
there. There seemed to be, about all these types of existence, the
freedom and carelessness of the life of primitive times, a happiness
of use and wont that gave the lie to our philosophical platitudes, and
wrought a cure of all its swelling passions in the heart.
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