the midday sun
Stay near the window of my room , and you will catch first sight of me coming along in the distance . If I wave my hat , it will be a sign that I bring a favorable answer . '' Claudet pressed his hand ; they separated , and Julien descended the newly mown meadow , along which he walked under the shade of trees scattered along the border line of the forest . The heat of the midday sun was tempered by a breeze from the east , which threw across the fields and woods the shadows of the white fleecy clouds . The young man , pale and agitated , strode with feverish haste over the short-cropped grass , while the little brooklet at his side seemed to murmur a flute-like , soothing accompaniment to the tumultuous beatings of his heart . He was both elated and depressed at the prospect of submitting his already torn and lacerated feelings to so severe a trial . The thought of beholding Reine again , and of sounding her feelings , gave him a certain amount of cruel enjoyment .