Up to the giant arm of a gnarled oak, fluttered an owl, which hooted noisily as the young man hurried beneath.

The crickets were chirping.

A little way off was a small stream plunging over a dam; from it came a liquid roar; and the little wall of white spray was just visible in the darkness.

Out from the orchards drifted the fragrant scent of apple, pear, plum, and quince.

Still more sweet was the breeze, as it swept over the wide-stretching rose-beds.
Overhead Orion and Arcturus were glittering in that hazy splendour which belongs to the heavens on a summer's night.
Drusus kept on, only half noting the beauty of the darkness.