He laughed gayly, and at least he succeeded in surprising them when
he waved his hand towards the great expanse under the broad blue sky,
that sea of tall green stalks whose ears were already heavy and undulated
at the faintest breeze. That warm splendid afternoon, the far-spreading
fields looked like the very triumph of fruitfulness, a growth of germs
which the humus amassed through centuries had nourished with prodigious
sap, thus producing this first formidable crop, as if to glorify the
eternal source of life which sleeps in the earth's flanks. The milk had
streamed, and the corn now grew on all sides with overflowing energy,
creating health and strength, bespeaking man's labor and the kindliness,
the solidarity of the world. It was like a beneficent, nourishing ocean,
in which all hunger would be appeased, and in which to-morrow might
arise, amid that tide of wheat whose waves were ever carrying good news
to the horizon.
True, neither Constance nor Valentine was greatly touched by the sight of
the waving wheat, for other ambitions filled their minds: and Morange,
though he stared with his vague dim eyes, did not even seem to see it.
Pages:
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328