Albano. 245 



tall, white-blossomed Mediterranean heath, and the 

 myrtle. These and many others my girls used to 

 bring in from their early morning walks. The 

 flowers only lasted till the end of June, when the 

 heat began, and the whole country became brown and 

 parched ; but scarcely had the autumnal rains com- 

 menced, when, like magic, the whole country broke 

 out once more into verdure, and myriads of cycla- 

 mens covered the ground. Nightingales abounded 

 in the woods, singing both by night and by day ; 

 and one bright moonlight night my daughters, who 

 slept with their window open, were startled from 

 their sleep by the hooting of one of those beautiful 

 birds, the great-eared owl "le grand due" of 

 Buffon which had settled on the railing of their 

 balcony. We constantly came across snakes, gene- 

 rally harmless ones ; but there were a good many 

 vipers, and once, when Somerville and my daughters, 

 with Mr. Cromek, the artist, had gone from Gen- 

 zano to Nettuno for a couple of days, a small asp 

 which was crawling among the bent-grass on the 

 sea-shore, darted at one of the girls, who had irri- 

 tated it by touching it with her parasol. By the 

 natives they are much dreaded, both on this coast 

 and in the pine forest of Ravenna, where the cattle 

 are said to be occasionally poisoned by their bite. 



