THE ORGAN MOUNTAINS. 325 



short passage to and from Petropolis. From early- 

 youth the Bay of Naples has ever appeared to me so 

 perfectly beautiful that I was very reluctant to admit 

 the pretensions of a rival. Even now I can well 

 understand that some may find the pictures presented 

 to the eye on the charmed coasts of our Mediterranean 

 bay more complete, and the tints of the shores and 

 sea and sky more harmonious ; but there could be 

 no doubt as to the gorgeous vesture that everywhere 

 adorns this land. The vegetation of the Mediterranean 

 coasts seems but poor and homely after the eye has 

 dwelt on the luxuriance of tropical life, as though one 

 were to compare a garb of homespun with trappings 

 of velvet and embroidery. The islands of the bay 

 present a ceaseless variety. Some are mere rocks, on 

 which sea-birds of unknown aspect stood perched. 

 Many of the larger are inhabited, and one, as I heard, 

 has a population of thirteen hundred souls, and 

 several charming villas showed it to be a favourite 

 resort. 



In about an hour and a half from the city, the 

 little steamer ran alongside of a wooden jetty at a 

 spot on the northern side of the bay facing the bold 

 range of the Organ Mountains, which extend for over 

 twenty miles in an easterly direction. Between the 

 northern shore and the foot of the mountains is a 

 level swampy tract, evidently filled up by the detritus 

 borne down by the numerous streams, and beyond 

 this the mountain range rises very abruptly from the 

 plain. Somewhat to my disappointment, I ascer- 

 tained that Petropolis lies at a considerable distance 

 from the higher part of the Organ range to which 



