and fanciful shapes; while streams and rivulets bubbled and rippled
on every side,--not icebound as before, but careering along in glad
liberty, and with the pleasant music of falling water. Lower down, the
grass was waving as the wind moved on, and cattle were seen in herds
revelling in the generous pasture, or seeking shelter beneath the deep
chestnut-trees; for, already, even here, the Italian sun was hot. Lower
again came dark groves of olives and trellised vines; long aisles of
leafy shade traversing the mountain in every direction, now curving in
graceful bends, now in bold zigzags, scaling the steep precipices, and
sometimes hanging over cliffs and crags, where not even the boldest hand
would dare to pluck the ruddy bunches.

Beneath them, as they went, the great plain of Lombardy opened to their
view,--that glorious expanse of wood and waving corn, with towns and
villages dotting the surface; while directly below, at their very feet,
as it were, stretched the Lake of Como, its wooded banks reflected in
the waveless water. What a scene of beauty was that fair lake, with its
leafy promontories, its palaces, and its Alpine background, all basking
under the deep blue of an Italian sky; while perfumes of orange groves,
of acacias and magnolias, rose like an incense in the air, and floated
upwards!

Even the hard nature of the wild Hungarian--the rude dweller beside
the dark-rolling Danube or the rapid Theiss--could not survey the
scene unmoved; and, dismounting from their saddles, the hussars moved
stealthily along, as if invading the precincts of some charmed region.
Frank was in no haste to leave so picturesque a spot, and resolved to
halt for the night beneath the shade of some tall chestnut-trees, where
they had sought shelter from the noonday sun. Como was at his feet,
straight down beneath him was the wooded promontory of Bellagio, and
in the distance rose the Swiss Alps, now tinged with the violet hue of
sunset Never was there a scene less likely to suggest thoughts of war
or conflict If the eye turned from the dark woods of the Brianza to the
calm surface of the lake, everything wore the same aspect of peaceful
security. Figures could be seen seated or walking on the terraces of
the villas; gorgeously decked gondolas stole over the bay, their
gold-embroidered ensigns trailing lazily in the water. Equipages and
troops of horsemen wound their way along the leafy lanes; not a sight
nor sound that did not porten