A couple of sheep were nibbling the lush grass in a far corner of the play-ground ; a cow-bell , somewhere in the maple woods , tinkled faintly and musically , on the still crystal air , which , in spite of its blandness , still retained a touch of the wholesome austerity and poignancy of a Canadian spring . The whole world seemed to have fallen , for the time being , into a pleasant untroubled dream . The scene was very peaceful and pastoral -- almost too much so , the young man thought , with a shrug of his shoulders , as he stood in the worn steps and gazed about him . How was he going to put in a whole month here , he wondered , with a little smile at his own expense . `` Father would chuckle if he knew I was sick of it already , '' he thought , as he walked across the play-ground to the long red road that ran past the school . `` Well , one week is ended , at any rate . I 've earned my own living for five whole days , and that is something I could never say before in all my twenty-four years of existence . It is an exhilarating thought . But teaching the Lindsay district school is distinctly NOT exhilarating -- at least in such a well-behaved school as this , where the pupils are so painfully good that I have n't even the traditional excitement of thrashing obstreperous bad boys . Everything seems to go by clock work in Lindsay educational institution . Larry must certainly have possessed a marked gift for organizing and drilling . I feel as if I were merely a big cog in an orderly machine that ran itself . However , I understand that there are some pupils who have n't shown up yet , and who , according to all reports , have not yet had the old Adam totally drilled out of them . They may make things more interesting . Also a few more compositions , such as John Reid 's , would furnish some spice to professional life . '' Eric 's laughter wakened the echoes as he swung into the road down the long sloping hill . He had given his fourth grade pupils their own choice of subjects in the composition class that morning , and John Reid , a sober , matter-of-fact little urchin , with not the slightest embryonic development of a sense of humour , had , acting upon the whispered suggestion of a roguish desk-mate , elected to write upon `` Courting . '' His opening sentence made Eric 's face twitch mutinously whenever he recalled it during the day . `` Courting is a very pleasant thing which a great many people go too far with . '' The distant hills and wooded uplands were tremulous and aerial in delicate spring-time gauzes of pearl and purple .
The young , green-leafed maples crowded thickly to the very edge of the road on either side , but beyond them were emerald fields basking XXXXX sunshine , over which cloud shadows rolled , broadened , and vanished .
about across at down during if in of on with