A COUNTRY VILLA. 191 



tude enough to be called mountains, and it is difficult to 

 tell where land and sky meets. 



Not a breath of air ruffled this fairy sheet the morning 

 of my arrival ; and hills, woods, and sky were reflected 

 from it, as faithfully as the most polished mirror gives 

 back the form that stands before it. The few fleecy, snow- 

 white clouds that hung motionless away in the zenith 

 looked just as distant in the depths of the water, and 

 almost gave you the sensation of being above the clouds, 

 looking down on terrestrial scenery. 



The beach is white sand, almost rivaling the snow in 

 fairness ; its contour on the wooded side is a sweeping 

 curve, while that towards you is broken into bays and in- 

 lets. All the way round the lake, the underwood is of 

 dense growth, and both the broad-leaved and common 

 laurel extend quite to the water's edge. I cannot picture 

 the bloom, though I doubt if the Yale of Cashmere ever 

 equaled the brilliant display. Large crimson masses of 

 flowers in gorgeous profusion, alternated with as abun- 

 dant blossoms of snowy white, so heavy that they fairly 

 laden the twigs, and rest on the silver water. At the foot 

 of the hill, where the cattle and sheep are grazing, or 

 rather on a slight eminence this side, is an irregularly 

 constructed Italian villa. The irregularity of the structure 

 makes it more in harmony with the scene. The western 

 wing is surmounted with a dome and cupola. To the 

 east, the building is not so high, and about the centre is 

 a large conservatory, the glare of the glass mellowed by 

 the climbing plants inside. On the very eastern extremity 

 rise two square turrets, between which is a colossal statue 

 of an antlered buck, the attitude being that of watch- 

 ful rest. Along the south wall of the building is a sort 

 of battlement, forming supports for marble statues, repre- 

 senting nearly all the gods of Heathen Mythology. They 

 were sculptured in Italy, having been captured by a pri- 



