And the two friends, arm in arm, and putting, as formerly, long pauses between their questions and answers, examined every point of the horizon.
The two friends, arm in arm
“It is at least seventeen years since I have ascended the belfry tower,” said Van Tricasse.
“I do not think I ever came up before,” replied Niklausse; “and I regret it, for the view from this height is sublime! Do you see, my friend, the pretty stream of the Vaar, as it winds among the trees?”
“And, beyond, the heights of Saint Hermandad! How gracefully they shut in the horizon! Observe that border of green trees, which Nature has so picturesquely arranged! Ah, Nature, Nature, Niklausse! Could the hand of man ever hope to rival her?”
“It is enchanting, my excellent friend,” replied the counsellor. “See the flocks and herds lying in the verdant pastures,—the oxen, the cows, the sheep!”
“And the labourers going to the fields! You would say they were Arcadian shepherds; they only want a bagpipe!”
“And over all this fertile country the beautiful blue sky, which no vapour dims! Ah, Niklausse, one might become a poet here! I do not understand why Saint Simeon Stylites was not one of the greatest poets of the world.”