Excerpt from Noontide Leisure, or Sketches in Summer, Vol. 1 of 2: Outlines From Nature and Imagination, and Including a Tale of the Days of Shakspeare Templative man, than are its noontide liours, provided the fervency which usually attends upon them, be sufficiently attempered by the grateful contrast of protecting shade. All na ture, indeed, seems at this sultry season sunk in lassitude and repose, and an universal still ness reigns around, even deep as that which waits upon the noon of night. It is then we fly to woods, to waters, and to caves, whose com parative coolness, whilst it breathes a delicious balm through every nerve, singularly disposes the mind, not only to the full enjoyment of the scenery itself which secludes us from the blaze of day, but to the indulgence of those trains and associations of thought which spring from, and luxuriate in, the realms of fancy and meditation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.