Beneath the porch of the country-seat called Tanglewood , one fine autumnal morning , was assembled a merry party of little folks , with a tall youth in the midst of them . They had planned a nutting expedition , and were impatiently waiting for the mists to roll up the hill-slopes , and for the sun to pour the warmth of the Indian summer over the fields and pastures , and into the nooks of the many-colored woods . There was a prospect of as fine a day as ever gladdened the aspect of this beautiful and comfortable world . As yet , however , the morning mist filled up the whole length and breadth of the valley , above which , on a gently sloping eminence , the mansion stood . This body of white vapor extended to within less than a hundred yards of the house . It completely hid everything beyond that distance , except a few ruddy or yellow tree-tops , which here and there emerged , and were glorified by the early sunshine , as was likewise the broad surface of the mist . Four or five miles off to the southward rose the summit of Monument Mountain , and seemed to be floating on a cloud . Some fifteen miles farther away , in the same direction , appeared the loftier Dome of Taconic , looking blue and indistinct , and hardly so substantial as the vapory sea that almost rolled over it . The nearer hills , which bordered the valley , were half submerged , and were specked with little cloud-wreaths all the way to their tops . On the whole , there was so much cloud , and so little solid earth , that it had the effect of a vision . The children above-mentioned , being as full of life as they could hold , kept overflowing from the porch of Tanglewood , and scampering along the gravel-walk , or rushing across the dewy herbage of the lawn . I can hardly tell how many of these small people there were ; not less than nine or ten , however , nor more than a dozen , of all sorts , sizes , and ages , whether girls or boys . They were brothers , sisters , and cousins , together with a few of their young acquaintances , who had been invited by Mr. and Mrs. Pringle to spend some of this delightful weather with their own children , at Tanglewood . I am afraid to tell you their names , or even to give them any names which other children have ever been called by ; because , to my certain knowledge , authors sometimes get themselves into great trouble by accidentally giving the names of real persons to the characters in their books . For this reason , I mean to call them Primrose , Periwinkle , Sweet Fern , Dandelion , Blue Eye , Clover , Huckleberry , Cowslip , Squash-blossom , Milkweed , Plantain , and Buttercup ; although , to be sure , such titles might better suit a group of fairies than a company of earthly children . It is not to be supposed that these little folks were to be permitted by their careful fathers and mothers , uncles , aunts , or grandparents , to stray abroad into the woods and fields , without the guardianship of some particularly grave and elderly person . O no , indeed ! In the first sentence of my book , you will recollect that I spoke of a tall youth , standing in the midst of the children . His name -- -LRB- and I shall let you know his real name , because he considers it a great honor to have told the stories that are here to be printed -RRB- -- his name was Eustace Bright . He was a student at Williams College , and had reached , I think , at this period , the venerable age of eighteen -- years ; so that he felt quite like a grandfather towards Periwinkle , Dandelion , Huckleberry , Squash-blossom , Milkweed , and the rest , who were only half or a third as venerable as he .
A trouble XXXXX his eyesight -LRB- such as many students think it necessary to have , nowadays , in order to prove their diligence at their books -RRB- had kept him from college a week or two after the beginning of the term .
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