"
Then they talked of John's visit, and the subject had a great
fascination for Richard. Perhaps Phyllis unconsciously described Texas,
and Texan affairs, in the light of her own heart; it is certain that
Richard never wearied of hearing her talk upon the subject; and the
following spring he determined to see the country of which he had heard
so much. John met him with a fine horse at the Buffalo Bayou, and they
took their course direct west to the Colorado.
To one coming from the old world it was like a new world that had been
lying asleep for centuries. It had such a fresh odor of earth and
clover and wild flowers. The clear pure air caused a peculiar buoyancy
of spirits. The sky was perfectly blue, and the earth freshly green.
The sunrises had the pomp of Persian mornings, the nights the soft
bright glory of the Texan moon. They rode for days over a prairie
studded with islands of fine trees, the grass smooth as a park, and
beautiful with blue salvias and columbines, with yellow coronella and
small starry pinks, and near the numerous creeks the white feathery
tufts of the fragrant meadow-sweet. It looked like miles and miles
of green rumpled velvet, full of dainty crinklings, mottled with pale
maroon, and cuir, purple, and cream-color.
"How beautiful is this place!" cried Richard, reverently; "surely this
is one of the many mansions of our Father! One would be ashamed to
be caught sinning or worrying in it!"
As they reached the pine sands the breeze was keener, and their spirits
were still more joyous and elastic.
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