about four o'clock in the afternoon
I went outside , where a group of elderly men were discussing the tax rates ; and after remaining a few minutes with them , I came to the conclusion that the pleasantest thing I could do would be to take a stroll over the country . I made my way over some rolling meadow land , where three or four of Captain Jabe 's cows were carefully selecting the edible portions of the herbage , and , having passed the crest of a rounded hill , I found myself on the edge of a piece of woodland , which seemed to be of considerable extent . This suited my mood exactly , and I was soon following the curves and bends of a rude roadway , in places almost overgrown by vines and bushes , which led me deeper and deeper into the shadowed recesses of the woods . It was now about four o'clock in the afternoon . The sun was still well up , and out in the open the day was warm for an up-and-down-hill stroll ; but here in the woods it was cool and quiet , and the air was full of the pleasant summer smells that come from the trees , the leaves , and the very earth of the woods . It was not long before I came upon a stream of a character that somewhat surprised me . It was not very wide , for at this spot the trees met above it , darkening its waters with their quivering shadows ; but it was evidently deep , much deeper than the woodland streams of its size to which I had been accustomed .