Page:The Writings of Prosper Merimee-Volume 5.djvu/295

 THE BOHEMIANS NOISY tribes of gypsies go wandering about in Bessarabia; and to-day they set their tents on the river's edge. Their nights are peaceful, for sweet is sleep in the open air. Between the wheels of the wagons and behind torn rugs one can see their fires burning, for supper is being cooked for the clan; the horses graze about on the grass and a tame bear has found a resting-place near one of the tents. There is great commotion all about, for to-morrow, at dawn, they break camp and each one makes his preparations with joy. The women sing, the children shout and hammers resound here and there.

But soon sleep settles on this vagabond troop and the silence of the steppe is not broken, except by the barking of dogs and the neighing of horses. All is quiet, the fires die out, and high in the sky the moon alone sheds its hght on the sleeping tribe.

In a tent by himself, an old man is still awake. Seated before some dying embers and