the burst with which the carriage started out of the village and up the rise beyond, was soon checked by the steepness of the hill. gradually, it subsided to a foot pace, swinging and lumbering upward among the many sweet scents of a summer night. the postilions, with a thousand gossamer gnats circling about them in lieu of the furies, quietly mended the points to the lashes of their whips; the valet walked by the horses; the courier was audible, trotting on ahead into the dull distance.