silent fields; and
often I remained there on the coping for a long time, propped upon my
elbows, and contemplated the distant landscape. Every where upon the
horizon there were wooded mountains surrounded here and there by the
ruins of feudal castles. Before me, in the midst of fields of corn and
buckwheat, was the Bories estate. Its old arched porch, the only one
in the neighborhood that was whitewashed, looked like one of those
entry-ways that are so common in African villages. This estate, I had
been told, belonged to the St. Hermangarde children, who were destined
to become my future comrades. They were expected almost daily, but I
dreaded to have them come, for my little band composed of the Peyrals
seemed all sufficient and extremely well chosen.

CHAPTER XLV.

Castelnau! This ancient name brings to me visions of glorious sunshine
and of clear light shining upon noble heights; it evokes the gentle
melancholy that I felt among its ruins, and recalls to me my dreams
before the dead splendors buried there for so many centuries.

The old ruin of Castelnau was perched on one of the most heavily wooded
mountains in the neighborhood, and its reddish stone turrets and towers
stood out boldly against the sky.

By looking over and beyond the wall surrounding my uncle's garden I
could see the ancient castle. Indeed, it was a conspicuous point in the
landscape, and one immediately saw its rough red stones emerging from
the interlaced trees; one instantly noted the ancient ruin crowning the
mountain all overgrown with the beautiful verdure of chestnut and oak
trees.

Upon the day of my arrival I had caught a glimpse of it, and I was
attracted by this old eagle's nest which must have been a superb place
of refuge during the stormy middle ages. It was a common custom in my
uncle's family to go up there two or three times a month to dine and
pass the afternoon with the proprietor, an old clergyman, who lived in a
comfortable house built against one side of the ruin.

For me those days were like a revel in fairy land.

We started very early in the morning so that we should be beyond the
plains before the hottest period of the day. When we arrived at the
foot of the mountain we were refreshed by the cool shade of the forest,
enveloped in its mantle of beautiful green. As we went up and up, by
zig-zag paths, afoot, and in single file, under lofty arching oaks and
intertwined foliage our line of march resembled a h