n--as so many times have the men of
the north with the men of the south until the Master of All, drawing a
line with His sceptre, said: 'Thus far only.' Then He made the river
which surges forward in a straight flight from Valenza to the sea and
swarthy barefooted peasants of the plain flanked it with parallel
dikes.

"On either side of the whole way are long rows of mulberry trees for
silk culture, and vineyards for red wine, and between the grass grows
rank and green.

"But three times yearly the geni of the garden comes forth, on moist,
moony nights, and changes the rugs of green in the aisles of the
vineyards and the groves and the carpets of the fields.

"When the time of the singing of the birds is come and the locust and
the cherry bloom, then he spreads the rugs and carpets of promise and of
gold, embossed with yellow tulips and bordered with royal purple, Parma
violets.

"When nature is voluptuously mature the geni spreads his rugs and
carpets of poppies. It is the season to wound and to garner; the red of
the fields is as the wounds of the slain.

"The geni grows old, his beard and hair are white as lamb's wool. White
oxen drew great tanks on wheels into the vineyards. The grapes are
gathered and trampled into wine. The trees and vines look sad. The rugs
are faded and worn. It is the season of death; the sleep before the
resurrection. So for the last time the geni comes forth and spreads his
rugs and carpets of white--the last flowers of the year.

"You will pass several ancient churches along the way. When the interior
walls are scraped it is not uncommon to find frescoes by some forgotten
master, generally in the nude. The father of the church, being something
of an artist himself, mixes a pot of paint and dresses the exhumed Saint
Anthony in yellow pants, his conception of how that saint should appear
in public.

"This reminds me of the stars painted on the dome of the 'Star Chamber'
of Westminster Abbey. The Jewish money lenders of ancient London were
permitted to deposit the bonds of their Christian debtors in a chamber
of the abbey. The Hebrew word for 'bond' being 'star,' the chamber was
so named. The reason for the name in time became obscure. A subsequent
custodian, having his own conception, had stars painted on the dome and
walls of the chamber.

"On this trip I was told by an Italian antiquarian how the names 'White'
(Bianca), 'Green' (Verdi) and 'Black' (Nero) first were given people.