Gatbens 251 



roses with a spring under a rustic arch of grotto work 

 fringed with ivy. Thousands of fish inhabit here of 

 that beautiful glittering species which comes from 

 China. This golden nation were leaping after insects 

 as I stood gazing upon the deep clear water, listening 

 to the drops that trickle from the cove. Opposite to 

 which at the end of a green alley you discover an oval 

 basin and in the midst of it an antique statue full 

 of that graceful languor so peculiarly Grecian. 

 Whilst I was musing on the margin of the spring 

 (for I returned to it after casting a look upon the 

 sculpture) the moon rose above the tufted foliage of 

 the terraces, which I descended by several flights 

 of steps with marble balustrades crowned by vases 

 of aloes. . . . 



"Then I plunged into a winding path which led me 

 by a series of steep ascents to a green platform over- 

 looking the whole extent of a wood, with Florence 

 deep beneath, and the tops of the hills which encircle 

 it jagged with pines; here and there a convent with- 

 ering in the sun. The scene extends as far as the 

 eye can reach. 



"Descending alley after alley, and bank after bank, 

 I came to the orangery in front of the palace, dis- 

 posed in a grand amphitheatre with marble niches 

 relieved by dark foliage, out of which sprung cedars 

 and tall aerial cypresses. This spot brought the 

 scenery of an antique Roman garden so vividly into 

 my mind, that, lost in a train of recollections this 

 idea excited, I expected every instant to be called to 



