Sentence and verb question

Question

I have two questions regarding these opening lines:

I was driving more or less automatically and it was a little time before I realized that I'd crossed the state line into Connecticut. That lush Luce landscape wouldn't be denied recognition for long, though. A thin moon slanted its light through the foliage which partly overhung the parkway, momentarily lighting up a flat, still stream as the Buick sped by.

I was wondering, what does the first underlined phrase mean, and what is "a flat, still stream"?

Thanks a real lot

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

RubenadriaanThat lush Luce landscape wouldn't be denied recognition for long, though.

It would not take a long time to recognize the landscape.

Rubenadriaan"a flat, still stream"?

A small river where the water is not moving. It has no waves or ripples on its surface.

Anonymous · Answer

I'm surprised you don't ask about the phrase "lush Luce landscape," because I'm not absolutely certain what it is - and I'm a native English speaker - and this seems key to the meaning of the passage. This apparently refers to the landscape painter Maximilien Luce, who painted lush country scenes.

I interpret this slightly differently. The driver is driving fast and automatically, ignoring the scenery, but the lushness of the Connecticut landscape, even though lighted only by thin moonlight reflected off of a stream, forces him to recognize that he has crossed the state line. I don't see any real significance to the words "flat, still". They're simply there to improve the rhythm of the sentence.

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