Often near the shore the sandy barrier
has been broken down by the wind or by the waves, and a long gulley
formed, which cuts deep into the dunes, and through which the sand
drifts inland till it reaches a steep bank clothed with rushes,
against which it heaps itself, and so, rising higher with the storms
of each winter, forms another dune. This process has been going
on for ages. The sands are for ever shifting, but moss begins to
grow in sheltered spots; such wild flowers as can flourish there
bloom and decay; the poplars shed their leaves, and nourish by
imperceptible degrees the fibres of the moss; some hardy grasses
take root; and at length a scanty greensward appears. By such means
slowly, in the microcosm of the dunes, have been evolved out of
the changing sands places fit for men to live in, until now along
the strip which guards the coast of Flanders there are green glades
gay with flowers, and shady dells, and gardens sheltered from the
wind, plots of pasture-land, cottages and churches which seem to
grow out of the landscape, their colouring so harmonizes with the
colouring which surrounds them. And ever, close at hand, the sea is
rolling in and falling on the shore. 'Come unto these yellow sands,'
and when the sun is going down, casting a long bar of burnished
gold across the water, against which, perhaps, the sail of some
boat looms dark for a moment and then passes on, the sky glows
in such a lovely, tender light that those who watch it must needs
linger till the twilight is fading away before they turn their faces
inland.
Pages:
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153