The Daughters of Danaus

The Tower of the Winds stood desolately, in the midst of a wide-eyed agricultural country, and was approached only by a sort of farm track that ran up hill and down dale, in a most erratic course, to the distant main road.

The country was not mountainous, though it lay in a northern district of Scotland; it was bleak and solitary, with vast bare fields of grass or corn; and below in the valley, a river that rushed sweeping over its rough bed, silent where it ran deep, but chattering busily in the shallows. Here was greenery to one’s heart’s content; the whole country being a singular mixture of bleakness on the heights, and woodland richness in the valley; bitterly cold in the winter months, when the light deserted the uplands ridiculously early in the afternoon, leaving long mysterious hours that held the great silent stretches of field and hill-side in shadow; a circumstance, which had, perhaps, not been without its influence in the forming of Hadria’s character. She, more than the others, seemed to have absorbed the spirit of the northern twilights. It was her custom to wander alone over the broad spaces of the hills, watching the sun set behind them, the homeward flight of the birds, the approach of darkness and the rising of the stars. Every instinct that was born in her with her Celtic blood – which lurked still in the family to the confounding of its fortunes – was fostered by the mystery and wildness of her surroundings.

by Mona Caird

ANSWERS

1. Which of the following statements is true of the Tower of the Winds?

A. It benefited from easy access to the main road.

B. It was uninhabited and forlorn.

C. It was situated at the end of a rural dead-end road.

D. It was in the middle of a thriving metropolis.

2. The valley in the country

A. was surrounded by hills as it lay in the north of Scotland.

B. was absolutely bare.

C. was crossed by a river, which rustled drowsily in the shallows.

D. was covered with trees.

3. Which of the following circumstances contributed to the formation of Hadria’s character

A. Her Celtic origin

B. The adverse winter conditions.

C. The mystery and silence which spread over the area in the dreary winter afternoons.

D. All of the above

4. How did Hadria feel within her surroundings?

A. In full harmony with nature.

B. Constantly threatened.

C. Lonesome and depressed

D. Scared by the unknown