In his fancy she sat opposite to him in her rocker , clad in the trailing blue gown , with her head leaning on one slender hand , as white as a twilight star . But Carlisle people knew nothing of this -- would have thought him tinged with mild lunacy if they had known . To them , he was just the shy , simple farmer he appeared . They never knew or guessed at the real Jasper Dale . One spring Alice Reade came to teach music in Carlisle . Her pupils worshipped her , but the grown people thought she was rather too distant and reserved . They had been used to merry , jolly girls who joined eagerly in the social life of the place . Alice Reade held herself aloof from it -- not disdainfully , but as one to whom these things were of small importance . She was very fond of books and solitary rambles ; she was not at all shy but she was as sensitive as a flower ; and after a time Carlisle people were content to let her live her own life and no longer resented her unlikeness to themselves . She boarded with the Armstrongs , who lived beyond Golden Milestone around the hill of pines . Until the snow disappeared she went out to the main road by the long Armstrong lane ; but when spring came she was wont to take a shorter way , down the pine hill , across the brook , past Jasper Dale 's garden , and out through his lane . And one day , as she went by , Jasper Dale was working in his garden . He was on his knees in a corner , setting out a bunch of roots -- an unsightly little tangle of rainbow possibilities . It was a still spring morning ; the world was green with young leaves ; a little wind blew down from the pines and lost itself willingly among the budding delights of the garden . The grass opened eyes of blue violets . The sky was high and cloudless , turquoise-blue , shading off into milkiness on the far horizons . Birds were singing along the brook valley . Rollicking robins were whistling joyously in the pines . Jasper Dale 's heart was filled to over-flowing with a realization of all the virgin loveliness around him ; the feeling in his soul had the sacredness of a prayer . At this moment he looked up and saw Alice Reade .
She was standing outside the garden fence , in the shadow of a great XXXXX tree , looking not at him , for she was unaware of his presence , but at the virginal bloom of the plum trees in a far corner , with all her delight in it outblossoming freely in her face .
Rollicking appeared clad disappeared let pine setting shading take tinged