(Ming tbe ^oun^er 49 



olives, and trees of that kind which delight in 

 constant warmth, will not flourish here, but the 

 laurel thrives, and is remarkably beautiful, 

 though now and then the cold kills it though 

 not oftener than it does in the neighborhood of 

 Rome. The summers are extraordinarily mild, 

 and there is always a refreshing breeze, seldom 

 high winds. This accounts for the number of 

 old men we have about ; you would see grand- 

 fathers and great-grandfathers of those now 

 grown up to be young men, hear old stories 

 and the dialect of our ancestors, and fancy 

 yourself born in some former age were you to 

 come here. The character of the country is 

 exceedingly beautiful. Picture to yourself an 

 immense amphitheatre, such as nature only 

 could create. Before you lies a broad, extended 

 plain, bounded by a range of mountains, whose 

 summits are covered with tall and ancient 

 woods, which are stocked with all kinds of 

 game. The descending slopes of the mountains 

 are planted with underwood, among which are 

 a number of little risings with a rich soil, on 

 which hardly a stone is to be found. In fruit- 

 fulness they are quite equal to a valley, and 

 though their harvest is rather later, their crops 

 are just as good. At the foot of these, on the 

 mountain-side, the eye, wherever it turns, runs 

 along one unbroken stretch of vineyards termi- 



