y a stretch of sand, contains some old
ruins said to have been the villa of Catullus.

At 11.25 we arrived at Desenzano, the station of which overlooks the
lake, but the town itself is at some little distance. It seemed so
lovely here, I quite regretted we were to continue our journey to Milan.
After Desenzano, which possesses a picturesque little castle with
turreted walls, the railway passes on to higher ground, affording more
commanding views of the lake scenery. Then the land intervened, and we
quite lost the lake. The weather was delightfully warm, the air bracing,
and the sky cloudless. The sunny hills, flooded with soft purple light,
reflected from the red soil in the foreground, added greatly to the
beauty of the scene. The olive and the vine seem to love this richly
coloured earth, and always flourish splendidly on it. Pizzato is finely
situated at the foot of the great Carrara marble quarries. Thousands of
hands are employed here. There were consignments of marble columns and
blocks for building purposes at the station, ready to be despatched,
probably to all parts of the world; for the hard and beautiful white
marble dug out of these stupendous Alpine quarries is greatly in request
for monuments, tombs, etc. After this we lost sight of the snow-clad
hills for a time, but at Brescia they reappeared.

The castle and fortifications of Brescia are boldly placed, overlooking
the city. The Cathedral Dome, and red serrated hills, add a picturesque
grace, with the purple mountains in the background. Up to this point our
journey had charmed us with its beautiful and varied landscapes, but the
remainder of the route appeared tame and uninteresting. It was our first
taste of the beautiful Italian lake scenery, and we were spoiled for
anything less lovely. Much of the ground we passed over in this journey
from Verona to Milan was full of historic interest, having been, from
its important central and strategic position, one of the great
battle-fields of Europe both in ancient and modern times.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Arrival in Milan--Railway station--Tram carriages--History and present
condition--The Cathedral--Irreverence of Italian Priests--The Ambrosian
Liturgy--Sunday school--S. Carlo Borromeo--Relics--A frozen flower-garden
--View from the tower.

Arriving at Milan shortly before dusk, we drove at once to the Hotel de
France, where we had been assured we should find cleanliness and