House and Garden 
glare of sunlight, but 
in the warm summer 
evenings cooled by the 
south wind, it is a fa¬ 
vorite retreat of the 
friars. Opposite the 
terrace steps is a 
domed arbor of euony- 
mus, so dense that 
even at high noon the 
sunlight can barely 
filter in, but reflected 
from the small leathery 
leaves, fills it with a 
diffused and greenish 
light, as inviting in the 
white Venetiah day¬ 
time as the bastion- 
terrace is at evening. 
We were, it seemed, 
in the pleasure part of 
the gardens. Else¬ 
where all is utilitarian, 
though at the same time so cleverly arranged 
that each path is interesting by reason of its 
bordering or the arbor above it. The paths 
are straight and generally lead to a deco¬ 
rative object of interest, though the arrange¬ 
ment is in nowise monumental. There is no 
great plan such as in the Lante or d’Este 
gardens—-each path is independent and treat¬ 
ed as its use or its position suggests. 1 he 
gardeners never sacrificed the practical to 
the ornamental, but so screened what was 
forcedly ugly that it nowhere obtrudes; they 
carefully left open to view all that is pleasant 
to see. Perhaps the most effective planting 
borders the broad 
walk along the 
northern sea-wall 
leading from the 
bastion-terrace. 
Here especially is 
shown how they 
fully realized the 
natural beauty of 
the situation and 
the form and color 
of their plants. 
Eitilitarian as else¬ 
where, a border¬ 
ing hedge of 
grape-trellis, high 
on the inner side, 
screens the kitchen gar¬ 
dens, and low on the 
side towards the water, 
allows one, walking 
past, to look out over 
it across the sea. The 
green monotone of the 
grape-leaves is broken 
by black cypress or 
delicate blue-green 
oleanders with their 
rose-pink flowers. Over 
beyond the sea-wall 
hedge, between the 
great cypresses, stretch 
the miles on miles of 
calm lagoon with Venice 
and the islands white 
and purple in the dis¬ 
tance, and far to the 
north the first snow 
mountains of the 
Italian Alps. We were there at vintage time. 
All the lay service of the monastery is done 
by hired Italians, and along the walk a dozen 
men were gathering the bunches of blue-black 
grapes. Several were lying flat on their backs 
under the low trellis by the sea-wall, legs 
sprawled over the path, but hard at work 
reaching above their heads for the hunches 
barely an arm’s length from the ground. 
Others were trundling away in barrows the 
filled baskets to the wine press. 
We ascended the walk. At intervals 
through breaks in the vine-hedge, shaded 
paths arched with grape-arbors led back 
from the sea-wall 
perhaps to a low 
doorway in the 
dark-red build¬ 
ings, or to some 
terrace with its old 
carved well-head. 
The vines half hid 
the adjoining 
kitchen gardens 
or the orchards of 
olive, or peach, or 
fig trees. The 
grape-arbors are 
built of u n- 
trimmed branches 
A PRIVATE BOAT LANDING 
From a sketch by 'Birch ‘Burdette Long 
Vrdhi Tbth of SmallGr>& TibbJcJ. CoohrxJowJrc//* 
gtedon tfUtd Obnp 
9bordered wjt£^r&pe* Ojeondcr: ond Gcyfrreas.:: *Uhc Jre/fis 
byjhejca « ~tyJcr/f is low oodLaf- orx can docfpvcr it <xrox> the 
A PATH ALONG THE SEA-WALL 
