CAPO DI MONTE, NAPLES 



great Vesuvius sends up his pillar of cloud by 

 day and of fire by night, a sight which, however 

 familiar, never fails to impress the imagination. 



The charm of Capo di Monte Palace lies in its 

 beautiful grounds ; the famous Bosco, the gardens, 

 the pheasantry, the preserves and aviaries. There 

 are seldom many flowers in an Italian garden. 

 With so much colour in earth and heaven they 

 do not seem necessary as with us. Shaded alleys 

 of ilex and cypress, groves of stone pines 



Green dusk for dreams, 

 Moss for a pillow, 



these are all-sufficient. Here and there on some 

 broken column or bare tree stem, climbing roses 

 and clematis in tangled profusion seem half wild, 

 as if come by their own choice. Among the 

 monumental trees, the solemn evergreen of acan- 

 thus and box, are frequent bits of ruined pillars 

 and temples, and broken statues, relics of anti- 

 quity brought years ago from some perhaps 

 accidental excavations. Is it some strange 

 mental process, is it magic in nature, is it 

 universal genius for beauty which imbues this 



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