midday
The late April noon gleamed like a frosty morning , but the air , though tonic , was kind . The road ran over sweeps of moorland where curlews wailed , and into lowland pastures dotted with very white , very vocal lambs . The young grass had the warm fragrance of new milk . As he went he munched his buns , for he had resolved to have no plethoric midday meal , and presently he found the burnside nook of his fancy , and halted to smoke . On a patch of turf close to a grey stone bridge he had out his Walton and read the chapter on `` The Chavender or Chub . '' The collocation of words delighted him and inspired him to verse . `` Lavender or Lub '' -- `` Pavender or Pub '' -- `` Gravender or Grub '' -- but the monosyllables proved too vulgar for poetry .