40 OTbe (Barren 



extending over broad meadows, where numer- 

 ous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle, which 

 the severity of the winter has driven from the 

 mountains, fatten in the spring warmth, and 

 on the rich pasturage. My villa is of a conven- 

 ient size without being expensive to keep up. 

 The courtyard in front is plain, but not mean, 

 through which you enter porticos shaped into 

 the form of the letter D, enclosing a small but 

 cheerful area between. These make a capital 

 retreat for bad weather, not only as they are 

 shut in with windows, but particularly as they 

 are sheltered by a projection of the roof. From 

 the middle of these porticos you pass into a 

 bright pleasant inner court, and out of that into 

 a handsome hall running out towards the sea- 

 shore ; so that when there is a southwest breeze, 

 it is gently washed with the waves, which spend 

 themselves at its base. On every side of this 

 hall there are either folding-doors or windows 

 equally large, by which means you have a view 

 from the front and the two sides of three differ- 

 ent seas, as it were : from the back you see the 

 middle court, the portico, and the area ; and 

 from another point you look through the porti- 

 co into the courtyard, and out upon the woods 

 and distant mountains beyond. On the left hand 

 of this hall, a little farther from the sea, lies a 

 large drawing-room, and beyond that, a second 



