a manner which was
not very clear to me in the distance. I therefore turned round
somewhat hastily and asked the old man about the niche and these cords
also. Civilly enough he took one down and showed it to me. It was a
cord of green silk of moderate thickness, the ends of which, fastened
together by a piece of green leather, cut through in two places, gave
it the appearance of being an instrument for no very agreeable purpose.
The affair seemed to me somewhat equivocal, and I asked the old man for
an explanation. He answered, very quietly and mildly, that the cord
was intended for those who abused the confidence which was here readily
placed in them. He hung the cord in its place again, and asked me to
follow him at once. This time he did not take hold of me, but I walked
freely by his side.

My greatest curiosity now was to know where the door could be to pass
through the railing, and where the bridge could be to cross the canal,
for I had been able to discern nothing of the sort hitherto. I
therefore looked at the golden rails very closely, as we hastened close
up to them,--when all of a sudden my sight failed me; for the spears,
pikes, halberds, and partisans, began quite unexpectedly to rattle and
to shake, and this curious movement ended with the points of all being
inclined towards each other, just as if two ancient armies, armed with
pikes, were preparing for the attack. The confusion before my eyes,
the clatter in my ears, was almost insupportable; but the sight became
infinitely astonishing, when the spears, laying themselves quite down,
covered the whole circle of the canal, and formed the noblest bridge
that one can imagine, while the most variegated garden was revealed to
my view. It was divided into beds, which wound about one another, and,
seen at once, formed a labyrinth of an ornament. All of these were
encompassed by a green border, formed of a short woolly-looking plant,
which I had never seen; all were adorned with flowers, every division
being of a different colour, and as these likewise grew short, the
ground plan was easily traced. This beautiful sight, which I enjoyed
in the full sunshine, completely riveted my eyes; but I scarcely knew
where I could set my foot, for the winding paths were neatly covered
with a blue sand, which seemed to form upon earth a darker sky, or a
sky in the water. Therefore, with my eyes fixed upon the ground, I
went on for some time by the side of my condu