The whirr of the grasshoppers had become more distinctly audible.

Sometimes the cry of the swan was heard from some distant lake, ringing through the air like a silver trumpet.

The travellers, halting in the midst of the plain, selected a spot for their night encampment, made a fire, and hung over it the kettle in which they cooked their oatmeal; the steam rising and floating aslant in the air.

Having supped, the Cossacks lay down to sleep, after hobbling their horses and turning them out to graze.

They lay down in their gaberdines.