ecloge

1. 157. ECLOGE.
12. One great essential to success in description consists in the judicious selection of the most striking circumstances. (De Mille)

1. In the following lines from the Earthly Paradise of William Morris there will be seen a selection of circumstances connected with a mid-day repast of reapers:
"He could see
The masters of that ripening realm,
Cast down beneath an ancient elm,
Upon a little strip of grass,
From hand to hand the pitcher pass,
While on the turf beside them lay
The ashen-handled sickles gray.
The matters of their cheer between
Slices of white cheese, specked with green,
And green-striped onions and rye bread,
And summer apples faintly red
Even beneath the crimson skin;
And yellow grapes, well ripe and thin,
Plucked from the cottage gable-end." (De Mille)