for many an hour i strayed through the maze of the forest , turning now to right and now to left , pacing slowly down long alleys of undergrowth , shadowy and chill , even under the midday sun , and halting beneath great oaks ; lying on the short turf of a clearing where the faint sweet scent of wild roses came to me on the wind and mixed with the heavy perfume of the elder , whose mingled odour is like the odour of the room of the dead , a vapour of incense and corruption .