All the town troops out to see the country in its gala dress.

The very poorest have a favorite nook, a recollection of the bygone year to be revived and renewed; a sheltered corner that invited sleep, a glade where the shade was grateful, a spot beside the river's brink where the fish used to bite.

Each one says, "Don't you remember ?" Each one seeks his nest like a home-coming swallow.

Does it still hold together?
What havoc has been made by the winter's winds, and the rain, and the frost?
Will it welcome us, as of old?
I, too, said to Lampron, "Don't you remember ?" for we, too, have our nest, and summer days that smile to us in memory.

He was in the mood for work, and hesitated.